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As I write this, there have been some examples, particularly in the
United States, of anthrax spores being delivered by normal terrestrial
mail. E-mail, which has always been perceived as a notorious insecure
way of communicating, has suddenly become a very sensible and
secure (in a wider sense) method of getting a message across. I’m sure
that all users would rather have a computer virus than a killer bacterial
disease. Nevertheless, the new reliance on e-mail (which may have
two diametrically opposite conclusions by either fading away or
becoming the norm) makes lax e-mail security even more critical Does your organization have a policy for e-mail use by employees
and what constitutes abuse?

Do all your organization’s e-mails automatically include a
disclaimer stating that the contents of the e-mail are the views
and opinions of the sender and not necessarily those the company?

Are employees instructed not to share e-mail passwords?

Is what is acceptable e-mail use defined? Examples are business
messages to co-workers, customers and suppliers together with
short personal messages.

Do you define exactly what unacceptable e-mail usage is?
Examples are those involving personal business activities of staff,
distributing chain letters or any messages containing lewd,
harassing, offensive and/or pornographic material.

Are your staff trained to realize that e-mails can be used as
evidence in legal cases and thus any terms that imply or confirm
slander, defamation and/or discrimination of any kind must be
avoided?

Are your staff trained to ensure that inappropriate messages,
which could cause embarrassment for the organization and/or
individual, are avoided? Remember the special advisor to a UK
government minister who sent an e-mail on the afternoon of
September 11 2001 suggesting that this would be a good day to
release ‘bad’ news relating to the government’s activities as it
would be ‘buried’.

What are your procedures regarding sending confidential material
and information by e-mail?

What instructions do you have in place regarding deletion of emails?

Are all users running an up-to-date virus checker that checks both
incoming and outgoing e-mails and their attachments?