No doubt, electronic mail is a powerful and efficient means of communications. But it is also vulnerable to interception. By coding messages so that they can be decrypted, and read, only by the intended recipient, E-mail is kept safe from prying eyes. Yet encryption packages have long had a reputation as difficult, nonintuitive tools. It is a reputation that no longer rings true.
Lawyers can now maximize the benefits of electronic mail, while minimzing the risks.
Call for Encryption Since the typical E-mail is composed of simple characters that are transmitted from one computer to the next, it is a trivial task for someone to read a message. Employers, for instance, may monitor all employee communications, storing copies of every E-mail that is sent and received by the company's server. As Internet mail may travel through many different computers before it reaches its destination, each point along the route becomes a potential peephole for a curious eye. Worse, the technology exists to intercept not just random mail as it travels along the backbone of the Internet, but specific, targeted messages. When the sniffer finds something interesting, it copies the message and puts it aside for later review.