The standard confidentiality agreement provides that the credit professional's company may be liable for damages if the confidential information is leaked. A problem with e-mail from a litigation standpoint is that it creates a lasting record, unlike a phone call that is temporary. A vendor can be compelled to produce e-mailed material in litigation, unless otherwise privileged. However, if the vendor is embroiled in litigation, it may make sense to retain the e-mail to avoid a negative suggestion. This means that such e-mails are temporary, and from an evidentiary basis, will not fall in the hands of a competitor or used in a lawsuit.
Encryption is used to keep online communications like e-mail private.
This would allow that a confidential e-mail communication not fall in the hands of a competitor. The recipient unlocks the e-mail with a key and is bound by the credit professional's terms. Another development is e-mail that is automatically erased after 24 hours after being opened, the equivalent of disappearing ink. Of course, for the credit professional looking to retain a customer's confidential information, disappearing e-mail does not work. The benefits to the credit professional for using encrypted e-mail is that confidential information, be it communications with a customer over credit terms or financial information provided by the customer, will not end up in a lawsuit or open up the door for the credit professional's company from being sued for breaching a confidentiality agreement.