Transcript E-Mail Privacy at Johnson and Dresser

E-Mail Privacy at Johnson
and Dresser
By: Anuj Ghai & Ubaid Khan
Essential conflict of workplace
monitoring
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Employers concern
Employees concern
New Technology = Telephone, Computers, E-mail, Voice mail,
internet
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse / UCAN: Majority employers
monitor employees.
Evidence worth?
26% of Employers have fired workers for misusing the
Internet.
25% have terminated employees for e-mail misuse.
6% have fired employees for misusing office phones.
Employer's window into your
workspace
Types of computer monitoring:
• Computer Software
• Keystroke Monitoring
• Time spent on computer
Don’t think your job is
scrutinizing your every
move?
American Management Association’s
findings in 2005:
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Three-fourths employers monitor web site visits
65% block connections to web sites
A third track keystrokes
Half review e-mail messages
Is my employer allowed to see what is on my
terminal while I am working?
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Employer’s property
Limited Protection: Union contracts
Fourth Amendment defends against unreasonable search and
seizure
How can I tell if I am being monitored at my terminal?
•Employers allowed to monitor without employee’s
knowledge
•Ways of being notified: memos, employee handbooks,
union contracts, at meetings or on a sticker attached to the
computer
•Usually find out during a performance evaluation
Johnson and Dresser
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Johnson and Dresser = retail brokerage
John Perry worked as an Information Systems director
Purchased and Installed E-mail
Users unaware of emails archived
Scandal broke out
Emails were monitored
Johnson and Dresser
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Lisa Curry was responsible for following the utility industry
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She engaged in Email discussions with Margaret Leonard
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She sent Leonard messages that conveyed the latest company
gossip
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Manager saw the emails and Curry received a salary increment and
a mixed performance review.
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Perry felt bad for Curry
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He tried to get rid of the policy, but instead was asked to come up
with a new policy
4 Ethical Theories
• Kantian
• Act Utilitarian
• Social contract
• Rule Utilitarian
Our opinion..
Most employers are notifying employees when they are being watched.
 80% inform workers
 82% let employees know the company stores files
 86% alert employees to e-mail monitoring
 89% notify employees that their Web usage is being tracked.
Yet Johnson and Dresser choose not to let their
employees know that their e-mails were being archived.
Bibliography
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http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs7-work.htm
http://www.amanet.org/research/pdfs/EMS_summary05.p
df
http://www.sonic.net/~undoc/extent.htm
http://www.cdt.org/wiretap/councilman.shtml
http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Academic_edu/CAF/
http://www.linuxelectrons.com/article.php?story=2004100
5185439620
http://www.findlaw.com/privacy/