Security Magazine logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • MANAGEMENT
  • PHYSICAL
  • CYBER
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • SECTORS
  • EVENTS
  • MEDIA
  • MORE
  • EMAG
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Security Newswire
  • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
  • Leadership Management
  • Enterprise Services
  • Security Education & Training
  • Logical Security
  • Security & Business Resilience
  • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
  • Access Management
  • Fire & Life Safety
  • Identity Management
  • Physical Security
  • Video Surveillance
  • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
  • Cybersecurity News
  • More
  • COLUMNS
  • Cyber Tactics
  • Leadership & Management
  • Security Talk
  • Career Intelligence
  • Leader to Leader
  • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Annual Guarding Report
  • Most Influential People in Security
  • The Security Benchmark Report
  • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
  • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
  • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
  • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
  • Banking/Finance/Insurance
  • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
  • Education: K-12
  • Education: University
  • Government: Federal, State and Local
  • Hospitality & Casinos
  • Hospitals & Medical Centers
  • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
  • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
  • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
  • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
  • Industry Events
  • Webinars
  • Solutions by Sector
  • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Polls
  • Photo Galleries
  • Videos
  • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
  • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
  • MORE
  • Call for Entries
  • Classifieds & Job Listings
  • Continuing Education
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsor Insights
  • Store
  • White Papers
  • EMAG
  • eMagazine
  • This Month's Content
  • Advertise
Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Cybersecurity News

Digital Paper Trails: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Nick Scholz
cyber email

anyaberkut / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Via Getty Images

April 13, 2015

Hillary Clinton has been making a lot of headlines recently for setting up her own private email server while she was Secretary of State in the first Obama administration. Her decision not to use the government’s email server is concerning for a couple reasons: First, using a personal server for government correspondence posed a huge security risk and second, since there is no way for the government to track Clinton’s correspondence many are accusing her of suspicious activity. The permanent record your email correspondence leaves behind has become the modern day paper trail. Once you send or receive an email, the information contained within it is recorded and archived for future reference, often even after you delete it from your email client.

The email paper trail has its benefits – it can be a godsend if you need to check the details of a conversation that took place months ago or retrace the steps of a deal. But it has its bad and even ugly sides, too. In light of the recent accusations against Clinton because she didn’t leave a digital paper trail, the virtues and vices of the email paper trail are worth discussing.

The Good

Email and other electronic communications have dramatically changed the contemporary legal landscape. Because it is so widely used and practically impossible to get rid of, email serves as documentation for almost every move an organization and its employees make. Like the traditional paper trail, organizations can use the email paper trail to their advantage.

From a practical standpoint, paper trails have always been useful. A paper trail documents processes and procedures so that anyone can recreate them or finish them when incomplete. A paper trail provides proof of transactions – that they were conducted and exactly how they were conducted. Documentation is also important for billing purposes and audits, and in some cases, it’s mandated by law. When you lay a good paper trail, you create evidence that you followed procedures and laws – evidence that can ultimately protect you from claims of wrong doing.

The Bad

Organizations invest both time and manpower in laying a good paper trail to document procedures and comply with the law. While doing so is good practice, it cannot help you when workers make missteps, unintentional or not. Workers today have more freedom and flexibility in how and when they get their work done, using all manner of devices to send and receive correspondence from anywhere there is a network connection. With communication flowing so freely, it is easy for workers to use less discretion with every piece of correspondence they send. They may not realize that any hasty reply or lapse in judgment captured in an email or other electronic communication can be used against them or their organization.

Take the recent antitrust hiring suit involving tech giants Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel as a case in point. The case pitted 64,000 Silicon Valley tech engineers against corporate bigwigs like former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who agreed not to solicit one another’s employees, a so-called “no poaching” deal. In so doing, they restricted the natural flow of talent and artificially suppressed employee income in the Silicon Valley.

The deal was informal, but it was documented in a series of incriminating emails sent among the executives that were meant to be secret. The email evidence ultimately forced the defendants to pay an estimated $300 million settlement in early 2014. This is just one of the ironies of the case, according to a New York Times article: Silicon Valley might have made email a daily habit for hundreds of millions, but the suit showed that even technology executives can be careless of its ability to supply lawyers with evidence.

The Ugly

Email blunders that surface during a lawsuit can damage an organization’s reputation and finances, but when hackers force entry and access a company’s email in a blatant attempt to bully or humiliate, things can get downright ugly.

In the hack heard around the world that took place in November, Sony Pictures was the target of a massive breach where hackers stole and leaked 11 terabytes of data, including several unreleased films, sensitive internal emails and company documents revealing employee salaries, Social Security numbers and medical information. Not only has Sony suffered public humiliation, but the entertainment giant will also lose significant revenue as a result of the leaked movies and limited release of the film “The Interview,” which purportedly sparked the hack in the first place. Experts say this type of attack, which is very personal and maliciously destructive in nature instead of simply aiming to gain intelligence, is unprecedented.

In Conclusion

Where court cases 20 years ago could involve 300,000 pieces of paper on the high end, the paper trail of electronic communications connected to a case today can – if printed – number anywhere from 30 million to 300 million pieces of paper.

Ultimately, it’s up to IT to decide how to regulate and manage the data produced by email, whether by using proactive email filters that can catch troublesome emails before they are sent, or by using electronic records management systems that dictate what information to keep, what to discard, and how to archive electronic documents for future reference.

The fact that today’s paper trail is mostly paperless makes it no less real. It’s incredibly important to comply with your organizations’ (or in Hillary Cinton’s case, the government’s) email regulations and to be aware that you’re leaving a digital paper trail with every message you send. Do these things and the email paper trail could end up helping you in the long run rather than hurting you. 

KEYWORDS: data management digital paper trails email tracking

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Nick Scholz, Product Marketing Manager, Novell

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Logical Security
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    New Security Technology
    By: Charles Denyer
Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

The Money Laundering Machine: Inside the global crime epidemic - Episode 24

The Money Laundering Machine: Inside the global crime epidemic - Episode 24

Security’s Top 5 – 2024 Year in Review

Security’s Top 5 – 2024 Year in Review

Middle East Escalation, Humanitarian Law and Disinformation – Episode 25

Middle East Escalation, Humanitarian Law and Disinformation – Episode 25

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Sureview screen
    Sponsored bySureView Systems

    The Evolution of Automation in the Command Center

  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

Popular Stories

Rendered computer with keyboard

16B Login Credentials Exposed in World’s Largest Data Breach

Verizon on phone screen

61M Records Listed for Sale Online, Allegedly Belong to Verizon

Security’s 2025 Women in Security

Security’s 2025 Women in Security

Red spiderweb

From Retail to Insurance, Scattered Spider Changes Targets

blurry multicolored text on black screen

PowerSchool Education Technology Company Announces Data Breach

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

What do zebras, school groups and high-tech surveillance have in common? They're all part of a day’s work for the security team at the Toledo Zoo.

August 7, 2025

Threats to the Energy Sector: Implications for Corporate and National Security

The energy sector has found itself in the crosshairs of virtually every bad actor on the global stage.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products

Related Articles

  • Thought bubbles

    Lessons from the Security 500 Conference: The good, the bad, and the ugly

    See More
  • The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly

    See More
  • Wireless Video: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • databasehacker

    The Database Hacker's Handboo

  • Risk-Analysis.gif

    Risk Analysis and the Security Survey, 4th Edition

  • s and the law.jpg

    Surveillance and the Law: Language, Power and Privacy

See More Products
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!