--- begin forwarded text X-Sender: oldbear@pop.tiac.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Mon, 05 Aug 1996 12:48:12 -0300 To: Bob Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com> From: The Old Bear <oldbear@arctos.com> Subject: Email Confidentiality and Malpractice? Bob: I always feel funny passing along items like this from usenet. This was posted to nine of the alt.business newsgroups dealing with law and insurance investigation. It seemed reasonably interesting, contains some useful information, and is not overly offensive for a self-promotional spam. (And, at least it was posted in appropriate places.) If you see any merit in all or part of this being reposted to dcsb or elsewhere, feel free to do so. Cheers, Will --- Forwarded message follows --- Newsgroups:alt.business.insurance From: syr@netroplis.net (Bill Fason) Subject: Email and confidentiality: Are you committing malpractice? Organization: Serves You Right Civil Process & Investigations Date: Sat, 03 Aug 96 17:57:54 GMT Lines: 74 If you're discussing cases through email and you're not encrypting your correspondence, then you could be committing malpractice. See: http://www.gsu.edu/%7Elawppw/lawand.papers/bjones.html Client Confidentiality: A Lawyer's Duties with Regard to Internet E-Mail by Robert L. Jones August 16, 1995 Contents: 1. E-Mail v. Snail Mail 2. Hacker, Cracker, Phracker - Sniffer, Spoofer, Spy 3. Encryption to the Rescue? 4. Bad Things That Happen to Good Lawyers 5. Ethical Considerations 6. The Attorney-Client Privilege 7. Negligence Anyone? 8. Conclusion 9. Endnotes Bob's homepage is http://www.mindspring.com/~bobjones/my1sthom.html And here is the website for Georgia State Univ. Law School. It has one of the best collections of cyberlaw resources I've seen. GSULaw is at the cutting edge of the field. http://www.gsu.edu/~lawadmn/gsulaw.html While Bob's brilliant article specifically addresses attorney-client confidentiality, his insights apply to any professional using email. In fact, anyone who uses email for internet or intranet communications faces the same fact of life: unencrypted email carries no expectation of privacy. It's like dropping a postcard through the mail. In fact, it's even worse. Important discussions of cases, clients, patients, bids, negotiations, strategies or anything requiring confidentiality needs to be securely encrypted. Sending unencrypted sensitive email invites nightmare scenarios. Viacrypt is the answer. It combines the essentially unbreakable strength of Phil Zimmerman's PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) with the user-friendly interface of Windows. Easy to install and use, Viacrypt allows the user to quickly encrypt and decrypt email. It also allows the user to sign messages, and to check the signature of other electronic messages. Viacrypt also allows the user to encrypt files on one's own hard drive. A user of PGP can leave the office knowing that sensitive files will remain confidential regardless of who is on the evening cleanup crew. Regular PGP for DOS is free. If you want to find out more about where and how to get your free copy, then visit the Encryption Policy Resource Page: http://www.crypto.com/ And if you need help getting it up and running, feel free to contact me. Viacrypt, on the other hand, costs money. I offer it for $125 plus shipping. I suggest that you get your copy fast while it is still legally available. Both FBI Director Louis Freeh and Vice President Al Gore have both spoken out against allowing US citizens to use encryption this strong. They want everyone to register their private encryption software keys with the federal government, thus allowing the feds to read anyone's email. It is reminiscent of the old communist governments' laws requiring citizens to register their typewriters with the police. Widespread use of PGP will hamper government efforts to ban it. PGP is so strong that the federal government has declared it a weapon and banned its export. Bill Fason Serves You Right Civil Process & Investigations * Skiptraces 1436 W. Gray #272 * Background Checks Houston TX 77019 * Asset Searches 713/524-4767 * PGP Encryption Consulting 713/942-8165 fax * Financial Fraud Detection SLN A-8111 --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender." -- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard, for Bart Simpson The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/