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Clinton cleared after email scandal – lesson to learn

How often have you been tempted to use your personal email account for work-related matters? Hilary Clinton did so on at least 110 occasions and was lucky to get away with it.  Remember Michael Gove was not so lucky see Gove Gate.

For many of us this is a violation of company security policy.  And if it is not then it should be.  Personal email accounts and devices are rarely as secure as business ones.  For example, if your company mobile device is either lost or stolen it can be immediately locked and wiped clean so that no one else can access the content.  If you share an email account others can read your emails.  Maybe you have inadvertently left your mobile device lying around and others know (or can guess) the  access password.

You may not escape unscathed.  What lessons can we learn from the Clinton email scandal to reduce the risk of email cyber crime?  Here are my top three take aways.

1. Never be tempted to forward work emails to your personal email account.
2. Avoid sending work-related emails from your personal account.  If needs be draft the content (in a password-protected/encrypted Word file) and send it to yourself/PA to send on the business account.
3. Check that your company email and security policy has a clause about the use of personal email accounts for work, and what are the processes and penalties for breaking it.  Dismiss perhaps?

What’s your view on the use of personal email accounts for business?

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