Like most Local Authorities we "monitor" emails at the firewall to
filter out, viruses, spam and other unwanted content.  The problem is
always defining unwanted content and getting the balance right between
privacy for the individual and protecting them from offensive or just
plain irritating email content. All of this "monitoring" is done
automatically, human intervention happens to check that the right emails
have been blocked and to release any emails which have been blocked for
the wrong reasons

I think we can justify all of the decisions we make even if I personally
do not agree with them (see my views on a previous thread Monitoring for
swear words) and of course we fiddle with the blocking mechanisms to
make them perform better.

Some monitoring of emails has to take place to protect the organisation,
but I doubt whether any Local authority routinely spies on its staff.
Is this a problem more prevalent in private industry?   

Chris Tinsley MSc
Wiltshire County Council

Information is the key

-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ian Welton
Sent: 26 October 2006 12:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [data-protection] Email quarantine systems

An item I noticed published on the internet by a firewall expert may be
of
interest to this thread.  It certainly matched my experiences.

"When I started working on firewalls I was surprised to learn the
company I
worked for were more interested in "spying" on their employees then
keeping
crackers out of their networks."

Crackers and organisational politics, with access to personal data
becoming
no more than a power play and privacy merely reduced to a respectful
deniability whatever next.


Ian W


Date:    Wed, 25 Oct 2006 22:13:22 +0100
From:    Charles Christacopoulos <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Email quarantine systems

Tim Trent wrote:
> No.  I have not consented by sending the email, not in the least
> degree.  I send the email to a person in an organisation.  There are
> no rules stated before the processing by the system happens.
> Technically there can be no notices unless the system rejects each and
> every "first inbound email" and states that any email is subject to
> this type of system
>
>

Hi Tim,

For your points to be taken seriously you should stop top-posting (the
same
applies to others).  Surely - Shirley even if you like airplane (the
film
that is) - your comment is not more important than the one you responded
to,
however much you may think so.

If you can rant so can I.  Free country 'n all that.

My most significant contribution to your issue is ...

Geez.  The end is near.
Aye ...

:-)
Charles


--
Charles Christacopoulos, Management Information Officer, Strategic
Information Management, Tower Building, University of Dundee, Dundee,
DD1
4HN, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Tel: 44(0)1382-344891. Fax: 44(0)1382-348845.
http://www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/
:: egothor http://www.egothor.org/

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