Email and Billboards

I want to mention something that's been on my mind, because the issue was brought up at a recent spouses' meeting.  Apparently, this is not common knowledge.....here it is....

We were given a briefing by our local police department on security...not just home security but also other kinds of security and the conversation moved on to internet security.

Did you know that whatever you post in a regular un-encrypted email is like writing something on a billboard?  Did you know that any email that you send out can be easily intercepted and read?  You know how your mother always told you not to say anything bad about anyone to anyone unless you want to broadcast ito the world?

Well, apparently.....no.  If you post your husband's deployment date and any other OPSEC information in emails back to family and friends, it is now common knowledge, and you've got your own Wikileaks going on.  Remember when Hurricane Katrina was in its infancy and Homeland Security staffers were joking and making inappropriate comments in their emails?  The ones that were posted all over the internet?

Did you know that if you send your credit card number, expiration date and other identifying information in your email, it can also be easily intercepted?  The few times I had to send sensitive information, I would always put it in two or three emails, with the numbers and information split up.  I don't know if that's good enough, but I probably shouldn't even do that I think.

Bottom line....don't write anything in an email you wouldn't mind having someone else read.  Many of you already know about not posting sensitive information on Facebook and other networking sites but sometimes, email etiquette security gets lost in the shuffle.

If you have anything you want to add, please add it below.