Work for a Big Company? Odds Are Good Your Boss is Reading Your E-Mail: Study

Worried your boss is reading your email at work? Your worst fears may be real. Of 301 large U.S. companies surveyed 41 percent say they hire staff to read and analyze outgoing mail. The numbers come from Proofpoint's annual Outbound Email and Data Loss Prevention survey which conducted the study this past March of U.S. companies with 20,000 plus employees.

Among the businesses surveyed 44 percent said they investigated a suspected e-mail leak of company secrets, 26 percent said they fired people for violating e-mail policies. So much for privacy.

Web 2.0 Privacy Worries

Email is not the only concern among businesses either, according to Proofpoint. Web 2.0 modes of communication such as blogs, message boards, media sharing sites and mobile devices have the boardroom suits quaking in their designer boots too.

According to Proofpoint, 27 percent of businesses have expressed great concern over data loss via mobile device. One in five have expressed concern over data loss by way of employee use of blogs or message boards. And another 12 percent of firms have looked into the confidential information leaks on media sharing sites. Lastly 14 percent of businesses surveyed said they have suffered from electronic data theft or been adversely impacted by other exposure of company information in some way.

E-Snooping = On the Job Stress

It is not surprising in this cyber-connected world we live in that companies are worried about leaks, and the impact on businesses is real enough. However, the idea that your job could be on the line every time you send an e-mail or make a blog post is a little unsettling to say the least.

If you want to see the complete report visit Powerpoint's Web site (registration required), and for the lighter side of e-mail gaffes check out the comments section on this Freakonomics blog post.

CREDIT - PC World contributor Ian Paul

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