IP: E-MAIL CATCHES UP TO SNAIL MAIL: Edupage, May 18, 2001

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> E-MAIL CATCHES UP TO SNAIL MAIL
> E-mail is now used by more than half of U.S. households and has
> taken on a variety of new tasks, such as conveying important
> medical, legal, and financial information. However, experts warn
> against the vulnerability of many of today's electronic messages.
> Whereas mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service is slow, it is
> much more secure, in part because of the culture that degrades
> the value of e-mail while criminalizing the violation of snail
> mail. ISPs and employers, too, have a free rein to observe the
> e-mail activity of those using their networks. The number of
> employers watching their workers' e-mail has risen to 47 percent,
> according to the American Management Association, up from 38
> percent in 1998. Moreover, ISPs keep some record of user activity
> in logs that can be accessed at the behest of the FBI or a court
> order.
> (USA Today, 15 May 2001)



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