The student keeps all of the E-mail from the faculty in an electronic folder. One day, the student is using a public lab machine and forgets to log out. We erase audiotapes, we keep incident reports in locked drawers, we password protect our computers, we shred notes and we do all manner of things to protect documents. As information technology gains more common use, more and more material is stored on disks. Perhaps the confidential file is on a disk is under lock and key in the file drawer next to the paper, or perhaps the confidential file is on the hard drive on a computer connected to the Internet.
Breaches of confidentiality can be serious.
Ethics and case law require lock and key approaches to paper, but ethics and case law have not caught up to electronic storage yet. Since most of us understand the basic concepts of file drawers, locks and keys, we feel good when things are locked up. The paper and pencil, lock and key metaphor is not really adequate for electronic media, and we suffer from using it. In addition to the accidental disasters listed above, malicious disasters are moderately easy for most systems by intentionally by-passing security systems to get at confidential documents. Some features of Windows NT make it impossible to reboot a machine and read the disk, solving this problem.