Letter: Cold reality of servers

During my career, I worked for two publicly-owned companies. Both companies, plus every other major company I am familiar with, required all company business be conducted on the company computer server. Personal communications with no business content could be handled on this email address, or a personal address, but all communications, calendars, schedules, financial documents, etc., were conducted on the company server. This included everyone, from the sales assistant to the chief executive officer. No exceptions.

There was some confidential and sensitive material involved, such as financial forecasts, legal documents, personnel files, and marketing plans. There are strict SEC rules about releasing company financial data, so maintaining control over company files is serious business. Most of the correspondence was pretty routine, however, and certainly nothing like top secret State Department documents.

If anyone failed to follow company policy, and used his or her own email account and personal server for company business, that person was subject to termination, for cause. This is a serious infraction, the same as stealing, falsifying records, or sharing information with competitors. In this case, the employee is terminated without benefits; no severance, no retirement, no accrued vacation, etc. Same for that person’s supervisor if he or she was aware of the breach of policy.

Then consider how the State Department and White House deal with this activity. First denial, then pleading ignorance. Pretty flagrant double standard, in my opinion.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Letter: Cold reality of servers."