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US Firms Read Employee E-mail On a Massive Scale

Posted by timothy on from the this-call-may-be-monitored dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In its fifth annual study of outbound e-mail and data loss prevention issues, Proofpoint found that 41% of the largest companies surveyed (those with 20,000 or more employees) reported that they employ staff to read or otherwise analyze the contents of outbound e-mail. 22% of these companies said they employ staff primarily or exclusively for this purpose."

6 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. No hidden agenda here by Lord+Grey · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From ProofPoint's products page:

    Proofpoint's unified email security and data loss prevention solutions provide complete protection against both inbound and outbound messaging threats. Learn more by exploring the Proofpoint Platforms and Modular Defenses links, below. Proofpoint solutions:
    • Defend against inbound threats such as spam, viruses and denial-of-service attacks
    • Prevent leaks of confidential or private information with robust, easy-to-use data loss prevention features
    • Encrypt sensitive information, based on customizable email security policies
    • Analyze messaging infrastructures and implement data loss prevention policies immediately
    • Are available in multiple deployment platforms including hardware appliances, anti-spam virtual appliances, software and on-demand service

    It may be just me, but I get really suspicious when a company in any business sponsors a survey and then uses the results to justify their own existence.
    --
    // Beyond Here Lie Dragons
  2. Is this surprising? by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Particularly for the Slashdot crowd? Hell, a portion of the readership is probably responsible for helping to implement such measures.

    Don't use your work email for personal stuff. It was never a good idea, and it's becoming ever less of a good idea. Don't say anything in an email that you wouldn't say in person or in writing. Be professional.

    Also, don't forward chain letters, don't send around forwards of kitten pictures, pr0n, jokes, political screeds, etc. etc. Most people don't want to get it and you're wasting bandwidth.

  3. Re:Surprise? Nope. I had a boss, once... by Reality+Master+201 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And how long did you stay there? If it was more than 2 weeks past however long it took to find another job, you're a sucker. No offense, but that's some super-duper bullshit treatment.

  4. Re:It's a waste of money. by maxume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The shadiest thing they could possibly do is to monitor your email and not disclose it.

    If they are disclosing that they monitor your use of their resources, you can choose if you are willing to put up with it or not.

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  5. Re:Your rights? by Hankapobe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hope people realize this is evidence of how reasonable it is for a company do monitor your e-mail rather than acting like they are being violated. You can't chat online with babes all day.

    I agree with you. Also, it doesn't even have to be like that.

    I see it like writing a letter and using company letterhead - only it's a domain for email. Your correspondence can imply that it's part of the business of the company you're sending it from. Now, I know someone is going to write, "So, if I send an email from my Yahoo! mail account it implies that I'm doing Yahoo! business?!"

    No. That's not what I'm saying. If I'm at my place of employment and send an email to someone that may be inflammatory, offensive, threatening, or whatever, someone can come back and say, "Hey, what's this? Someone at XYZ Inc. is threatening folks?!?"

  6. Re:Secure your email by drsmithy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Large corps? Heh - you're just begging for attention if you start flinging around abnormal-looking SMTP traffic; esp. in really big companies that get a touch paranoid about such things as corporate espionage.

    There is an implied point here that deserves highlighting.

    The people who are employed specifically to analyse outgoing mail, aren't looking for you emailing your girlfriend during working hours, forwarding chain letters, or calling your boss names. They're looking for the folks whose "inappropriate" mail will cost the company big $$$$ - corporate espionage, sexual harassment, etc.

    Most people will never be in position to be monitored thus, because they'll just never be "important" enough.