A leaked document called Microsoft’s Global Criminal Compliance Handbook clearly states that law enforcement and investigative agencies are welcome to access anything MS ever knew about you. Yes, anyone who actually still uses Hotmail, this means you. And for email over 180 days old, they don’t even need a subpoena. Now THAT’s naked.
To be fair, this is not much more than what the law in America requires. So everybody does it. The mantra still holds true – if you want something kept secret – really secret – don’t tell anyone, not even your keyboard.
But MS goes so far as to include hotline numbers for out-of-business-hours requests. That seems a little more eager to please than I’m comfortable with. Like wearing a t-shirt with “cheerful informant” emblazoned across the chest.
All that said, the worst secret most of us are likely to commit to email is how we really feel about our boss. So maybe it’s no big deal, right?
Right?
Maybe it will help if I say that this has always been the case. Anything you commit to print, directly or by someone else on your behalf, in any medium, can one day come back to haunt you. Letters, receipts, invoices, email, IM conversations, text messages, Facebook updates and profile pics… anything. Maybe you’ve heard of Nixon’s Watergate scandal.
So, I reckon if you were going to take anything away from this, it would be this: don’t put it in print unless you’re willing to pay for it. Unlike yesterday’s corporate shredder parties, nothing on the web (or a computer) ever goes away. I’m talking to you, drunk photo uploader. And your sudden exposure might not happen because you are suspected of a terrorist act. Mistakes happen all the time. ALL the time. And your prospective boss uses Google too.