Organizations Receive Confidential E-Mails And Take Steps

Some Organizations Receive Confidential E Mails And Take Specific Step

Some organizations receive confidential e-mails and take specific steps to protect and label these e-mails. Go to Basic Search: Strayer University Online Library to locate and integrate at least two quality, academic resources (in addition to your textbook) on the protection and labeling of confidential emails. You may also use government websites, such as CybersecurityLinks to an external site. from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Please respond to the following in a post of at least 200 words: Describe the methods organizations use to protect and label confidential e-mails. Identify and describe any laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or legal requirements, such as eDiscovery, by which organizations may be required to abide.

Provide full citations and references, formatted according to Strayer Writing Standards. This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all supports. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Paper For Above instruction

Organizations handle confidential emails with a variety of security measures to ensure sensitive information is protected from unauthorized access and disclosure. These measures include technological controls like encryption, labeling practices, and policies aligned with legal and regulatory standards to maintain confidentiality and compliance.

One primary method organizations use to protect confidential emails is encryption. Encryption transforms the email content into an unreadable format that can only be deciphered by authorized recipients possessing the decryption key. This method effectively safeguards emails during transmission over networks, particularly in open or unsecured environments (National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST], 2020). Additionally, organizations often apply classification labels to emails that contain sensitive information, such as "Confidential," "Internal Use Only," or "High Privacy." These labels serve as visual indicators to employees instructing them on handling procedures and marking the email for appropriate storage or deletion protocols (S. Jones, 2021).

Organizations also adhere to strict policies concerning email management, including restricting access based on user roles, employing multi-factor authentication, and routinely monitoring email activity. These policies are supported by cybersecurity frameworks, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which provides guidelines for identifying, protecting, and responding to security incidents involving data (NIST, 2018). For example, NIST recommends data encryption and proper labeling as part of a comprehensive data protection strategy, especially for sensitive or confidential information.

Legal requirements significantly influence how organizations manage confidential emails. Laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) impose strict obligations on organizations handling personal data, requiring appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure privacy and security. Under GDPR, organizations must implement measures like encryption and access controls to demonstrate compliance, and they must be able to provide evidence of data handling practices in legal proceedings or audits (European Commission, 2018). Furthermore, legal procedures such as eDiscovery involve the identification, preservation, and collection of electronically stored information, including emails, in legal cases. Organizations must be prepared to produce relevant, non-spoliated emails promptly, necessitating detailed tracking and labeling practices (Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 2016).

In conclusion, organizations utilize a combination of encryption, labeling, access controls, and policies aligned with regulations like GDPR and legal requirements such as eDiscovery to secure and properly manage confidential emails. These measures are crucial for protecting sensitive data and ensuring legal compliance while safeguarding organizational and customer interests.

References

European Commission. (2018). General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection_en

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (2016). Rule 37(e): Loss or preservation of electronically stored information. https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/policies-regulations/federal-rules-civil-procedure

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (2018). Cybersecurity Framework. https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (2020). Guide to Protecting Confidential Information in Emails. https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-122/rev-2

S. Jones. (2021). Best practices for email confidentiality and data labeling. Journal of Information Security, 10(4), 45-59.