Ex-Rep in Rehab After Dicey IMs

Case raises questions about employer’s responsibility for electronic communications.
October 2, 2006

Former U.S. Rep Mark Foley said Monday he has checked himself into alcohol rehabilitation in the wake of a scandal over suggestive instant messages the Florida republican sent to Congressional pages.

The scandal raises questions about an employer’s responsibility for electronic communications made in the workplace. Mr. Foley, who resigned from Congress Friday, chaired the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.

Instant messaging software is used in 93 percent of all organizations, and 35 percent of email users also use instant messaging, according Black Diamond, Washington-based messaging analyst firm Osterman Research.

The stakes could hardly be higher. The instant messaging scandal has damaged House Republicans, raising questions about what they knew of Mr. Foley’s behavior. Political analysts said the scandal ups the odds that Republicans will lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives in upcoming midterm elections.

Tough regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, however, mean that all organizations are on the hook—and instant messaging software can bypass many of the protections set up to control other forms of electronic communication, such as email.

“If you install any consumer-grade IM client in an enterprise, typically you have bypassed all the security defenses set up for email,” Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research, said.

Fixable Problem

The problem isn’t unfixable, however. Organizations can opt to ban instant messaging software. They can rip out consumer-class IM software and replace it with an enterprise-grade instant messaging system. Or they can install software that will manage all kinds of consumer IM clients.

Companies such as Symantec, Facetime, and Akonix all sell software to help business manage the use of instant messaging in the workplace. “You really have a couple of good options,” said Mr. Osterman.

Such a fix typically costs between $20 and $100 per user, Mr. Osterman said. Microsoft, however, is offering its instant messaging management software free to customers using its Exchange email software, he noted.

Such software can be used to track, encrypt, and even filter instant communications made via popular instant messaging clients, such as AOL Instant Messenger, made on company time with company equipment.

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