E-mail Security
E-mail is not secure. Although many people think of it as being an “electronic
letter”,
it is actually more like a postcard that can be read by any number of
people along
the route between the sender and recipient. It can be easily forged and
does not afford
privacy.
Generally, computer system administrators at UR make every effort to
respect e-mail
privacy. However, despite precautions, e-mail may not always remain
private.
Unless you take special precautions, such as encrypting your e-mail
(see PGP &
GPG Encryption below), be careful not to discuss sensitive matters
that you would
not want disclosed.
Be aware of the consequences of saving old e-mail messages and consider
routinely
deleting them. Even though you deleted a message, it may still exist
on your hard
drive or on a backup copy. Disclosure of such copies may be required
in connection
with judicial or administrative proceedings or government investigations.
Check
with your IT support professional if you are unsure about
whether or not your e-mail
is included in tape backups.
If you receive threatening or otherwise abusive e-mail, the sender
can often be identified
and is often surprised that his or her activities are traceable, even
when messages
are anonymous. If you would like help in tracing such messages, do not
delete
them. Contact abuse@rochester.edu for assistance. If necessary, we will
work with
law enforcement and courts to investigate.
If you believe that your safety is in jeopardy, call Public Safety
at x53333 from an on-campus phone or (585) 275-3333 from off campus.
For emergencies call Public Safety at x13 from an on-campus phone.
PGP & GPG Encryption
PGP (“Pretty Good Privacy”) is software that can be used
to digitally sign and encrypt
any computer data – e-mail, text documents, spreadsheets, database
files, etc.
It is particularly useful for sending e-mail that cannot be decoded
if intercepted by
anyone other than the intended recipient, and can also be used to apply
a “digital
signature” to any message. PGP software is available for Windows,
Macintosh and
Unix/Linux platforms. Be aware, both you and the recipients of your
messages need to be aware that you are using PGP, and you have shared
your “public key” with anyone who will be receiving encrypted
e-mail messages. Many versions include plug-ins for popular e-mail clients
such
as Eudora and Outlook, making confidential, signed and/or encrypted
e-mail easy to
send.
For more information and instruction on PGP and its use, visit:
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