Re: Using Web mail (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc) for Business mails

[Kenton Smith <listsks () yahoo ca>]

Big risk! Here are a few off the top of my head.

The number one risk of using these sites is that communication tends to not be encrypted. That means anyone sitting in 
the same wireless equipped cafe can easily intercept and read all email communication.

Also, depending on the regulatory requirements of your business it may be illegal to be storing customer sensitive data 
on a third-party server over which you have no control.

Lastly, and of less importance (maybe) is that there is no way to prove that a person has any authority to represent 
your company. At least if the mail is coming from a domain you control a propsective or active client can be reasonably 
assured that you are who you say you are. Of course there are better ways than just having an email address. But I 
think that if your users are currently using public mail providers for business email, certificates and email 
encryption aren't high on the company's list of priorities.

Kenton

----- Original Message ----
From: "sfmailsbm () gmail com" <sfmailsbm () gmail com>
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2006 12:00:16 AM
Subject: Using Web mail (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc) for Business mails

Dear List,

It is a common practice among users to user their personal email accounts like hotmail, gmail, etc to send & receive 
business (and most probably confidential) information

This is particularly the case when users are out of office

These webmails are not under the company's control, and hence there is a risk of information loss. However upto now we 
have not heard of any such cases

Wanted to get the opinion of the list on the security risks of the use of Webmails for business mails

Thanks & regards

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education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience.
Using interactive e-Learning technology, you can earn this esteemed degree,
without disrupting your career or home life.

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