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Tech Snoops into Client's Private EMail

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by aaron a baker 1 view

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Opinions Please
E-Mai Snooping or Professional Misconduct?
I have a friend who owns a Medium Sized Business. It? a good Business and doing extremely well.
In this setup he has the usual, a few Computers, Printers and the usual IT Setups to do the chores.
The Problem is his IT Tech.
Although the Tech is quite knowledgeable, he has the habit of logging himself in on my friend?s system at night when all is closed down, and then proceeds to read all my friend?s E-Mail. All without my friend?s permission or consent. As a matter of fact, my friend doesn?t even know anything has taken place until the Tech asks how the date went last night etc, etc.
If an E-Mail contains a note from my friend?s girlfriend regarding going out for dinner or whatever, the Tech will usually call him the next day to ask ho the dinner went and so on.
Of course this frustrates my friend to no end as he feels that his mail is private and should certainly not be held out as entertainment.
This Tech does this without regard as to how this might affect the client.
He Just goes in and reads it all and then will send in little comments on things In the e-Mails such as ?I hope the Wine was good? , How was the Pizza? You get the idea.
When my friend asked me about this, I hit the roof. I informed him that this was Professional Misconduct. No Professional Tech would read other people?s mail for the purpose of snooping. It simply wasn?t done.
I told him that the Tech had absolutely no reason to log himself back on after hours for the sole purpose of snooping and that this was conduct unbecoming of a professional IT Tech.
Let alone call the next day to discuss the contents of said E-Mails. What Nerve.
I am writing to you, my fellow Techs to ask if your are of the same mind.
Do you think it?s appropriate for a Tech to help himself to a clients personal E-Mails and then make comments on the contents of the e-Mail to the client?.
I suggested firing him out the window, what do you think?
Would be grateful for your thoughts.
Thanking you in advance
Aaron
:)

It is now Nov 17,2005
I've read every single post that has been put up here so far. I've also started copying them and pasting them in order so as to show them to my friend. I have to do ten or so at a time and then my eyeballs fall out :).
But the one thing I felt the need to say to each and every one of you is a really huge,"Thank You".
Your input has been far more valuable that you can possibly imagine, not to mention it's given me some great fighting ideas. I was surprised at the amount of answers but at the same time felt a deep sense of well being knowing that the True Pros out there feels and act as I do. It's a comforting feeling, knowing that although your work is done almost always by yourself, you're never really alone.
And so I just had to take a minute and thank you all so very much for having helped me out with this.I will of course keep coming back,a-To copy & Paste and then b]- To read any new posts.
It's a genuine pleasure knowing that I am dealing with the very best, and all these posts, prove that beyond a doubt.
Please forgive my little rant, but I truly touched am very grateful to all of you. Far more than you can know.
And so I close in saying
"May we continue keeping our standards and morals at the highest"
"No matter where we are in the World, May we be of one Moral Core."
Thank you one and all
Warmest Regards and heartfelt gratitude
Aaron

139 replies

by jdgretz

That is totally improper, and I can't believe he has the nerve to actually make comments on what he has read.

There ain't no tech who is that good, just make sure that guy who replaces him changes all the passwords and remote access doors before the old guy is out the door.

jdg

by mayres

Ok there are some legitimate reasons for logging on to a clients computer and opening the email client I have to do it a lot but to read the email is another story. Hear we login Send a few test messages ext but are not allowed to read the email it is laid out in the AUP that we wrote out says that a tech can not check email for personal curiosity. Yes what he doing is wrong but you might get in to legal trouble if you fire him out right. Hear is what I would do

1. Write and Acceptable Use Policy
2. Get everybody to sing the Policy (Including the Tech)
a. This way you have written conformation that he can not do that anymore
3. Talk the Tech tell him it is not acceptable
4. If he cops and attitude or does it again throw his but out the door
It is really important to let him know that what he is doing is wrong and give him a chance to correct the problem before terminating his employment. It would really suck if the company has to pay for his unemployment because the proper documentation was not signed

by techie31

don't even let him back in the door. I can't even begin to think someone would be such an ass. call a lawyer and a computer security consultant, meet him at the door get his keys and turn him over to the police..I am sure that he has broken more pirvacy laws then you can hit with bat

by rayc

Fire him now, change the passwords, scan for trojans and damn him to everyone connected with employing him. the guy is obviously a lunatic to so obviously comment on the content of emails etc.

by jchickory

He needs to be fired. But, since there is a question of his ability to know moral or ethical boundaries, you need to do things BEFORE you even talk to him about it. Once he knows that he's in trouble, he may do even MORE mischief. Consult with someone to know your legal ground. If you have to establish legal ground and policy before firing him, do so. But it would probably be a good idea to bring in a new IT to secure the system immediately before doing or saying anything to the old IT to prevent him from retaliating. I hope that you have good back ups. Good luck.

by jaqui

get rid of him, after getting a replacement tech.
make sure the replacement is fully up to speed before fireing him.

keep the comment emails, on cdrom that your friend takes home with him, as well as the email that the comment is based on.

lay charges of invasion of privacy, theft of data against the tech being fired.

by neil higgins

Get rid of him.Let him know that YOU know he's reading your friends email.Change email passwords on all acounts.As jaqui says,bring the new replacement up to date over what has happened.
Where I work,all incoming,and outgoing email messages are logged,but that's all.Besides,99% of them are work related,with only 1% family messages,sent in an emergency,and with permission.If I found out all and sundry was reading my mail,not only would it mean that the system was'nt secure,but my password was crap,and that the software manager,apart from having a fit,would probably end up getting fired as well.
What this IT person is doing is out of order.I'd also get your friend to place his findings on file,so that any future employer could be informed.

by gadgetgirl

so the tech would be automatically dismissed for gross misconduct. We have the RIPA Laws, Human Rights and the EU Privacy and Monitoring Directives, all of which would apply to this situation. Personally, if I found one of my team doing this, I'd take the legal route out.

I'm sure if you get onto a legal beagle or even a legal US based board, you'd be able to find a few applicable laws for this situation.

The other thing to remember is - who else is this person working for? Is he likely to be doing the same there? Where would your friend stand, legally, if he knew that this was going on and didn't inform the techs' other clients? Is this guy a lone trader? contractor? consultant? working for a firm? I would seriously have your friend consider blowing the whistle on this one - it may not only be personal data he's collecting, but industrial data, too.

Legally, this is another CYA situation. I'd advise your friend to take legal advice, while documenting everything that has happened to date. If the legal beagles decide they need proof, set up a covert op to catch the tech.

I'm all for both firing him, and having him prosecuted. People like him we just don't need in this profession. He is the epitome of what the true professionals can be accused of in the first place. We don't need people like him around to prove it.

I'm beginning to wish you were in the UK - I could quote statute, paragraph, sections and sub-sections that he's infracted on this one!

Best of luck!

GG

by jaqui

90% of the Criminal Code of Canada is word for word the same as UK law.

not sure what the latest laws are called in reguards to privacy, but I do know that the person reading the other's email is breaking section 342.1 of the CCC.
the section dealing with unauthorised use of computers.

by gadgetgirl

I just knew there had to be a Canadian equivalent of me somewhere!!!!:D

Sad, isn't it, that we can quote numbers and statutes like this.

Hmm.

Mental note to self: Must get a life..... :p

GG

by hal 9000

You are of course correct but then again you get to write the LAWS don't you? :)

But on a much more serious note this is the worst case of unprofessional conduct that I've ever heard of.

While I've been asked to monitor e-mail for a client and report my findings to the company owner I would never consider actually talking about the contents of e-mail personal or otherwise.

Its bad enough that this guy is taking the Micky but he is also showing that he is accessing confidential Company Data which is Plain and Simple Unacceptable.

I wouldn't even bother hiring a new guy and bringing him up to speed I would get rid of this guy before his feet hit the floor the next day and then worry about any legal ramifications. But by this time the damage has already been done and who knows what Company Data he has had access to that could destroy the company.

I would get in a consultant to change everything immediately so his access is cut off and explain to the consultant why you need this done if he/she is even a half way decent Tech they will most likely do it for free or at a reduced rate so they don't appear to be doing or condoning the same thing.

I wouldn't bother just changing the Passwords but I would start from the very basic a new ISP and all new E-Mail addresses and accounts as well as 20 digit Alpha Numeric Passwords. If he wants to try to break in again give him something to do and place it in the hands of the Local Law Authorities.

I've never heard of anything so gross and I'm sure that none of my staff would ever consider reading e-mail let alone making comments to the recipient they all have far too much pride in themselves for anything as base as that.

In every business where I've ever worked we know that our e-mail can be monitored but we certainly do not expect some lowly tech to throw it in our faces this should only be used when it is thought that an employee is passing off company data or making a profit off the company by doing things that adversely affect the business.

But being the nasty person that I am I would get my girlfriend/live in lover/wife to send me a personal e-mail telling me that she has caught HIV from me and then when he says anything about AIDS I would sue his arse off the planet, but he would cop a good kicking first right off company property.

As well as being completely locked out of access to any company data. But I would most likely keep a "Honey Pot" running full of false information so he can dig a bigger hole for himself.

Col

by aaron a baker

Hello Col;
Good to hear from you. You bring up some very interesting points. The system is usually left on 24 / 7 so that the accountants may have access. I am wondering if there any kind of records keeping going on in the actual computer or does she just get her numbers from the unit. It also makes sense that there would have a full list of clients, insurance Cos, Banking etc all on the computer. I suggested shutting down at night when they are not there but the account need access during the night. Catch 22. As for the legal aspects, I am looking into Canadian law as we speak, but it is rather difficult as the internet E-Mail is not regarded in the same manner as private "or home delivered" E-Mail. I'm still looking into this. I Offered to lock him out completely, but they are convinced that he is the only one that understands the system and are most reticent to make waves, and so they stew in quiet anger.I'm fighting fear here and it's going to take a bit of doing, That's a huge part of the reason that I asked for the opinions of my colleagues, I already knew what the response would be, just like me, they would be outraged and then I could show my Friend this letter and hopefully remove some of that fear and in the process, establish once and for all, "at least in this area' That Techs are Scrupulously honest people who would not stoop to doing such things.
Thanks for the comeback Col]:), it's always good to hear from you.
Regards
Aaron :)

by cuteelf

Is there a way you could set up an email address just for BS/ Honeypot, and have a key logger attached to it?

Have emails sent to both Real & Fake, and have keylogger on the workstation, and leave it open for the tech to get into.

Only have person open real email @ home by webuse/ no downloads?

Also may want to check IM keyloggers and ghosting......

You think to document this for another month, and nail the bastage?

How else to do this, I'm interested. I'd like to learn more about forensics and snaggin the buggers.

Cute

by aaron a baker

Hello Gadgetgirl;
Thank you for the comeback, and yes I am Canadian :). "Golly, Shucks" ]:)
I have spoken to "My Friend" the owner regarding the moral and legal issues re; this. At this point, he is most hesitant to do anything because The "Tech" Seems to be the only one that knows the system. Not that it's that big, trust me,it isn't. The Owners however are not Computer savvy and have placed themselves in his hands a few years ago and so it stayed. Partly because he knows the system "Probably built some of it and partly out of fear. I did not solicit the job, I only expressed my outrage to the owner who is a dear Friend of mine. But he feels locked in and with that kind of fear, it's most difficult to get people moving. That's why I asked for advice from my Colleagues, every letter will be copied and printed and then I will hand deliver them to my friend the owner and say "See, this is what "Truly Professional Techs" think of his situation". The second problem is that he unsure as to how to replace him. I told him I would help, but the fear factor set's in and it's back to square one. Meanwhile this "Tech " Thinks he's king of the hill and has full domain to do what he wants.
I am determined to put a stop to it, but want to do so without hurting my friend or his business.
Just so you'll all know, You have no idea how grateful I am for all the advice and the letters.
It will help make my point that Techs are indeed a Highly Reputable People and that this Tech's conduct is nowhere near the level of Pro.
Thank you.
Aaron :)

by aaron a baker

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who is outraged at this jerk's nerve. Imagine the temerity of calling my friend the next day to say that he hope's he had a good time at the dinner invitation received in the E-Mail. At fist I could not believe my ears, then I realized,this guy is counting on the fact that the client is not aware of the law or feels so omnipotent and indispensable that he can do as he pleases. His other job by the way,is working a and IT Tech for the Dept of Highways. Cute huh?
So naturally, I've advised my friend to get rid of this yahoo and get a real Pro in there. An yes, I will keep a copy of the responses, just to show my friend what Real Professionals think of such conduct. I will definitely make the Tech aware that I AM aware of his actions and that actions will be forthcoming. haven't taken any thus far at my friend's behest.
I shall keep reading, feeling better and better as I read of all you wonderful people who feel as I do.
Thank You.
Warmest Regards
Aaron :)

by gadgetgirl

I think we're all of the same mind when it comes to idiots like this tech - he gives the rest of us a bad name. There's no reason why this profession should put up with people like him.

Please bear in mind what I said about informing others - in your part of the world, it may be a legal requirement that you do.

(Ask Jaqui, he looks as if he's the Canadian equivalent of me! :D No, Jaqui, I know you're a fella and I'm ...... not! ]:) )

Let us know how you fare.

Best of luck

GG

by hal 9000

Who wants to beat the living daylights out of this guy for bringing us all into disrepute?

It's idiots like this who make it all that much harder for the rest of us as we are all tarred with the same brush when things like this happen and the end users expects us all to act this way!

It's bad enough that quite a lot of them think that we are out to rip them off blind at every opportunity but when this kind of thing happens it only makes things so much harder for the rest of us.

I'm for a bit of torture followed by drawing and quartering and hanging up the remains in the 4 corners of the world.

Col ]:)

by hal 9000

What I find worrying is his ability to have access to these in the first place and what else does he had access to?

Personal Info is bad but no where near as bad as it could be. I once saw a Insurance Consultant loose his business because he trusted a Chain Store to repair his computer and someone there sold off his client list and prices for insurance so he was undercut on every one of his current clients.

Of course nothing could be proved as to who actually did it and what makes it worse was that I warned him of this potential but he thought that I was just trying to make as much money as possible from him because I wanted to charge for repairs to the computers that I didn't supply that where still UG.

It took him about 5 years to recover and he didn't retain a single client, I personally would be far more worried about something like that happening rather than the petty remarks about personal stuff that really is unimportant in comparison to what damage can be done.

But in this case you have a clear person responsible so you have a case against him but even that may prove useless if he doesn't have the resources to pay the damages bill that would be awarded against him. With that level of access he could very easily ruin the company. So some steps must be taken to prevent this from happening so I would start off by getting someone else in and building a false DBase of clients and prices for whatever the company is offering that way if the client list is sold off or given away the place that gets the client list will be paying money for junk.

He also most likely has the ability to spoof outgoing E-Mails to make them look genuine so that too has to be taken into account.

Col

by m2c2

Hi,
Most of the replies have been right on....
1) acceptable use policy, etc...
But when contacting other people to pursue him
don't use your email to communicate!
He would be able to read all about it :)

by tink!

I think everyone has already expressed the general opinion quite well.

The tech is absolutely overstepping his bounds. We IT professionals have so much power, often far more than our employers realize, that we must have strong ethics to contain ourselves.

Unless given specific permission, other people's emails are definitely off-limits.

by charliespencer

1. Change the user's password
2. Replace the tech as quickly as possible. Be willing to sacrifice some job skills in exchange for professional ethics.

Edited additional step
3. Post the tech's name here so none of us will hire him.

by jdclyde

If this is on the company email, he has no say in the privacy of it as it is COMPANY property, not his. The COMPANY can do as it feels with this property anytime it wants.

On the other hand, this IS a violation of trust. Does the techs boss know he is going through other peoples mail after hours?

Does Human resources?

Does the President of the company?

Point out, if the tech is reading your buds mail, you can bet he is into it all. This part is grounds for termination in MOST companies.

Rule of email. Always assume someone else will read it.

by bhunsinger

I think the first post says that the friend is the owner of the company, so it is actually his email.

by hal 9000

The fact that this person is going around asking things that could only be obtained from the e-mail is the worrying thing.

I think that we all have from time to time had to read others e-mail but I've never heard of the contents of the e-mail being discussed with the recipient and more to the point if he is reading this what else is he reading and taking notes on?

What else does he have access to?

At one company where I was asked to do a Security Audit I found the main Accountants workstation being left on 24/7 with an internal modem in the thing. When I suggested that this wasn't such a good idea I was told that it was on the Fax line and no one could get in so everything was safe and it was unaccessible. Well that was waving a red rag to a bull so that night I downloaded their complete accounting package off the accountants workstation and presented them with a burnt CD next morning with a comment of something along the lines of "Look what I found On Line Last Night." Well when they eventually had some spare time and looked at the CD all hell broke loose and they took my advice firstly by removing the internal modems and switching to external ones that where constantly switched off unless needed and turning off computers after hours.

Lets face it we have an enormous amount of access if we chose to indulge ourselves and actually use it I don't think that there is a single thing in any company they any of us work for that we couldn't access if we really wanted to but the great majority of us know where to draw the line and you would have to be a fool to rub their noses in it if we went "Native" and took control of the setup.

This particular guy if he isn't fully there yet is at the very least part way there and needs to be stopped before he does some real harm that adversely impacts upon the company involved. He could quite easily send it broke with a few key strokes and since he has already shown his personal bent for reading e-mail when not asked to what else is he sticking his nose into?

Col

by aaron a baker

Col;
That's a darned good idea. I might just do that.
Get into his system and make a Burn of everything he's got on there, including Clients, Banking, Accounting etc.
Then I'll give it to him, who know's maybe, just maybe this will drive the message home to shut Down at night.
If I do this, I will let you know the results.
Pretty hard to argue with a CD with your life on it isn't it? :)
Yes, I love it.
Regards
Aaron

by mlayton

...if the guy was just a worker bee, that would be true, but we are talking the owner of the company who hired a guy to do a job. The tech is WAY outside his bounds, and it seems to me flaunting it. He may be trying to make the point that the company e-mail is far from private but a) unless thats in his task list to be reviewing people's e-mail he's overstepping and b) if he's doing it to other people and the company doesn't have acceptable use policy, etc in place there are potentially other legal troubles if someone else gets wind and decides to sue "they never notified me... etc". This yahoo needs to be booted but fast.

by neoconone

You can certainly fire him on the spot. If you do not, then document the incident, have him sign it, and be prepared to let him go at the next episode.

In the meantime, limit his ability to hurt you if he leaves quickly, either voluntarily or not. Be sure, absolutely, that you have all the passwords the he has and lock him out of changing them. Disable his ability to get into the system immeditely upon his departure, and again imediately, change all passwords he was privy to.

If this guy isn't worth the effort, let him go today.

by tony hopkinson

the door or the window.
Maybe not he'd probably sue and win.
He's got to go, though, if he's using company equipment to email people about personal matters you can fire his ass for misuse of company property, air tight I should think.

by thomas

Not so fast....
Firstly, you got to know what he's got access to and if he can still come back to haunt you.
Slowly find ways to lock him out.
And when you fire the guy out of the window ( preferbably with a cannon ), you got to change all the locks quickly.
Otherwise its going to come back and haunt you.

This is serious misconduct, and I myself wouldn't dream of doing this.

my 2 cents

by jdgretz

Boy, have I seen this before - the accountant wants access to QuickBooks from their desktop at home so the company leaves their machines on without passowrds in place leaving all their data open to the cleaning crew or anyone just dropping by and sitting down at a workstation. Might I suggest the need for a small server that can have controlled remote access? If nothing else, UltraVnc is a better solution than keeping all the desktops up.

jdg

by dc guy

That was the punch line of the Prickly City comic strip a few weeks ago on the subject of flag burning being a right but also being painful to people whose children died (in their view at least) defending that right. "We don't need a constitutional amendment. We just need manners."

Occasionally technicians have to look at other people's computers. Sometimes it happens after hours. Sometimes they have to use their own discretion trying to diagnose and solve a problem before the next workday begins. Sometimes they have to look into several other people's computers until they find the problem. Sometimes they see personal information.

We all know this happens. We all live with the knowledge that in the Information Age, the privacy of virtually anything we do or say is not totally secure.

But we expect the people who get a glimpse into our private lives to act like professionals and concentrate on what they're looking for, not being voyeurs.

I have no doubt that among our many computer security officers and our even larger staff of help desk people and troubleshooters, there are quite a few people who have watched me type personal e-mails or order prescriptions. But they did it because they were tracking a network problem or a security issue, not for fun. And they didn't call me the next day to throw it in my face.

Your guy doesn't need an official reprimand. He needs to be dealt with personally, as a member of the community rather than of the corporation. Like tarred and feathered, or hung on the flagpole by a wedgie. (Note to my network security officer: This is a joke to make my point, I'm not really advocating irresponsible behavior. ^_^ ) He's gone over that thin line that keeps the "civil" in "civilization."

What you need to do is not just get him out of your life, but give him a wake-up call that discourages him from moving on to another employer and continuing to be the same jerk.

by aaron a baker

I couldn't agree with you more.
The problem it seems, that in today's society, we seem to be making up laws for what was once thought of as "Good Manners" of " Knowing how to live".
I agree that we all find ourselves in spots where we could easily "Snoop" but our moral core prevents us from doing this, why? Because we're Pros and above that sort of thing. On top of that, and we certainly wouldn't call the client the next day to brag about it. This kind of conduct will seem abhorrent to anyone who knows how to live, unfortunately,for the others, we must make laws. Personally I liked the old way better. Moral core still has values, Thank Goodness.:)
Regards
Aaron

by jerrym mcse+i / a+

Company policy dictates access. If there is no company policy then I would agree that the "Tech" is out of line. Technically the tech doesn't need the users password to access any users email but definately needs policy to permit it. Different regulations (HIPPA for example) open the door for bad thngs to happy not only to the alleged intrusive tech but liability to the company as well.

Regardless of policy the tech should not be commenting or responding to any emails he should happen to encounter.
jermo

by itgirli

Fire him and do it quick. Mention that he may not want to use the company as a reference for future employment, or don't mention it and let them know why he was fired. After the first time, i would have explained that it is not his job to read/respond to other's emails, checking for viruses is one thing, if you friend owns the company I feel that his business is his business. If the tech did it a second time I would have his butt scraping pavement on the way out.

by hal 9000

Grabbing them by the hair and kicking them in the but off the property. :)

Dragging them kicking & screaming off the property is so much more stressful and it requires much more effort. :p

Col ]:)

by aaron a baker

Agreed it's trouble, but it sound's like a lot of fun too.
It's just the way I'd like to see him go.
Aaron:)

by aaron a baker

My Apologies to all for not returning as fast as I have. Believe me I had wanted to return far more often than this. However, I am absolutely "Crazy" at this time and come back to the page to read and if time permits interject.
Please don't get the idea that I have abandoned this as I haven't, but we all know what it's like when we decide to do one thing and then everything goes nuts around you.
Such is the case with me right now. I'm up to my "Posterior" in alligators, the original idea was to clean out the swamp. :)
So I am writing to thank you all for your kind patience with my lack of response and to thank you for your understanding.
You have been more help than you can possibly know.
Warmest Regards
Aaron

by jkaras

lol, I'm sure it's your friend and not you, wink, wink. Hehehe
Honestly I would have some fun back. First I would get hard copies of all the emails complete with his "input". I would show him hte log of log ons proving he did it. But before this confrontation I would get a friend that looks offical, dressed up like a lawyer and pull him into a quiet room to discuss his actions. When he enters the room have him sit quietly while the both of you co-ordinate facts, murmuring things like do you have a copy of email #17 in reference to wine and pizza? Mutter bogus violation no#s, then ask before we start is there anything you would like to tell us before we begin this discussion? As his face goes white, re-iterate anything at all? No? Well we have conducted an investigation as to harrassment in the workplace, specifically sexual harrassment and stalking of another employee.(enters the puddle of piss)You will see the most absolute begging happen, then hit him with any email that he has done personally further incriminating unprofessional behavior, poor attendance, you get the point. Then you politely inform him that you will gladly accept his resignation following his signature to the topics discussed avoiding any criminal misconduct lawsuits.

by aaron a baker

God how I love it. LOL Big time.
It would be worth the effort just to see the reaction.
Giving this one some thought.
Thank you
Aaron

by hal 9000

You are only in real trouble when you can't see the light through the surface of the water that is over your head at the time. :D

Col ]:)

by aaron a baker

Right Now I'm looking at that light and it seems awfully far away. Could have sworn it wasn't "That" deep.
Regards
Aaron :)

by w2ktechman

I have been in the field for some time, and I have never worked with anyone quite like this. In fact, most tech's dont give a crap about the information on someone elses system except that it must be protected, backed up, and secured. I would say that this person should be fired immediately, this is a personal violation which could end up in a law suit. The fact that the tech did this in the first place shows very poor judgement on their part, and this person lost all credibility to use good judgement even if he is told not to continue his actions.
If I were his manager, I would have spoken to HR about releasing him, the moment I found out about this issue. If having a tech there everyday is needed that bad, hire a temp for a few weeks while searching for a permanent replacement.

by aaron a baker

I completely agree wit you and tried very hard to get The Owner to do exactly that. I've even Offered to fill in for him until he finds a new firm.
We're stuck in a situation whereas the Tech is also a Friend of the Owner's and the Owner, being a kind and gentle soul doesn't want to hurt anybody etc. That's the real reason this guy is still around, so far. I've tried to explain a that a true friend doesn't act this way let alone a Professional Technician, but he is quite reticent at taking any action thus far. This is the reason I came to my colleagues at Tech Republic. I knew that the reaction would be the same as mine and I felt that if I could print all of these and present them to him, he might develop another perspective on this.
It's a tough position to be in for him. We're both his friends, although the Tech is no friend of mine. I've already advised that he get rid of him, after that what can you do? And so I'm hoping that these response letter from all of you will give him a clearer idea of where a true Professional stands on matters such as this.
Regards
Aaron :)

by w2ktechman

Well, this does throw new light on the scenario. The best thing to do from here is to mention to the owner that violations like this can be turned into lawsuits. Nobody wants to lose money that they dont have to. Run this scenario by the legal dept, or an attorney and see what kind of damages can be incurred. Then stress this point to the owner. He may take another route as it is ultimately his descision, but at least he can be informed of the consequences.
When talking to legal, dont say that it is happening, or mention names, just as a what if.

Granted, not all companies have attorneys handy, or even a legal department, which adds a little twist.
At the very least, his manager needs to sit down with him and make him sign a well written code of ethics for the job and ex[plain that these actions are not tolerable. This should be something that even the owner can agree to, and may releive some responsibility if a lawsuit is filed.
Ma'an, I hope this helps.

by jaqui

I was reading a client's personal email.
sitting at his computer, right beside him, to solve an error message he was getting from sending emails.

the only acceptable reason to actually read a clients email.
( mail server error messages )

the client was sending email to a non-existant email address. ~g~

by hal 9000

Did you ask him if he enjoyed the wine? :p

When I have to do things like that I tend to joke with the person and I never actually open any e-mails but just read the reports/messages of what they want to show me. ;)

But the ones that I just love is when you ask for a password to get into something the user tells you that they gave you that 6 months ago can't you remember it?

My greatest bugbear is that I refuse to deal with accounting packages I make this know straight away up front when I take on a new client and then within a few weeks/months they are hitting me with questions on their accounting packages where I have to get in and have a play around. As I have such an excellent memory I write the required passwords down and feed them to the paper shrewder when I'm finished. I do not commit things like that to memory ever it's just not worth the effort. :(

I don't mind upgrading their accounting packages when new versions come out as I've found that they tend to muck up the install or even better with a multiple input area they had created several different data files that didn't link up with each other that was interesting to fix but they didn't seem to like it when I explained that they had to reenter all of the data that they had created in the different files. The help desks of these companies is a wonderful thing to experience as they will just tell you that you need to install their product on each machine that is going to be used to input data but they do not explain how you use the network to link into the Data File you just need to install on each workstation involved. :^O

Col ]:)

by jaqui

was that he was trying to email me when he was getting the error messages.

this is the one that pays me for really basic things.
I also had to align the ink cartidges in his new printer.

and, since I do almost everything for his systems I have all his passwords memorised.
not that it's needed, as he has them written down and taped to the monitor. ~l~

by aaron a baker

While you were reading the E-Mail,The client was right next to you,"This is how it should be" That way the client know's that they are not being taken advantage of and that all is on the up & up. I too have had to read E-Mail, check configurations, reset the setups, etc, but always with the full knowledge and consent of the owner. Sometimes I even got the impression that they were a little bored with my explaining why I was doing this, so as to waylay any suspicions. My attitude was "Be Bored" at least you'll know for yourself, just what it is that I am doing.
Usually however, I have found owners to be quite receptive and grateful that I was willing to share so much information with them.
So it works out. But if you have the Owners Permission then it's a GO. Well done.
PS,
You live in my old Home town, God How I miss Vancouver,
I'm in Ottawa. Now you know why.
Regards
Aaron:)

by jaqui

the emails that were from mailer deamon for his isp... even though the messages that were generating were to addressed to a defunct email address of mine I never read anything that I didn't need to see to solve problem.

I noticed you are in the a$$hole of Canada..
only because of the huge concentration of crap does it rate the appelation though. ;)

by master3bs

We constantly come into situations where we see sensitive information; be it email or confidential documents or browser history and many other types of data.

The only way to deal with it is professionally; and that means confidentially. Any other approach would be an abuse of power and should result in discipline.

by hal 9000

Landing lights from a commercial freight aircraft in a full power dive and the Pilots saying "OH S##T!" ;)

If you can move fast enough you just might get away from Ground Zero but the concussion will still get you. :p

I'm going back to work tomorrow as I need the rest I've had 5 days of working for the wife cleaning up the yard or at least one small part of it. She got together with my office manager and took me out of the loop so I could work for her and my office manager is only too happy for this to happen as she can then control the others and get them to do things the way she wants them done rather than the way I do things. God I'm even looking forward to a mongrel Router From Hell as something that I want to do. :(

Col ]:)

by hal 9000

Several Hundred Print Head Alinement's? ;)

My favourite one is a woman who treats everything so seriously that whenever I ask for a password when I'm finished she changes it which I don't really care about in the slightest as I'll never remember them anyway but then she messes up the system by writing them down and sticking them to the desktop under her Keyboard. I only found them when I had to replace a worn out keyboard. :^O

Col ]:)

by jaqui

after 10 or 20 align print cartidges and delete old email address type calls you wind up relishing the server jobs, at least then you will have some chance of it being challenging. ~l~

by tlath1972

We do have a policy that the email can be monitored and is property of the company. If you are using email other then for company work then it is potential for being fired if inappropriate or not in accordance to policy. The management has the right to monitor the use of company resources to make sure it is being used in accordnce with the company policy. There is a fine line between getting in your business and doing routine checks of email. I would sugget getting a hotmail account and have your girlfriend send you email through that and do business dealings with your company email and make sure to change your passords regularly.

by jamesrl

There is a difference between the management reserving the right to review the mail, or instructing someone to review the email, and a tech taking it upon themsleves to read someone's email.

If the tech is not management and doesn't have the monitoring duty in their job description, or been instructed by someone to monitor, they are acting inappropriately and by the standards of most organizations I've been in, that person would be fired.

I had a similar situation at a previous job where if we could prove it we would have fired him (he had been a mail admin, but had moved onto another position - and yes someone should have changed the passwords. That error was corrected .

James

by kdddhm

Anyone who has so little to do as to find enjoyment in reading other people's e-mail is to be pitied and punished. I equate this snooping to that of a peeping Tom visiting people's windows after dark. How long would you tolerate knowing the identity of a peeping Tom? It's time to pull the shades down! This behaviour is unacceptable. Allowing this snooping to continue condones it. The victim needs to confront the violator and put a stop to the snooping. The victim needs to tell everyone in the office what is going on. Shame on the snoop!

by cttechguy72

I can totally relate to this discussion. I work for a small company with a small It department. I'm the desktop support engineer; we have a programmer, a network manager, and my boss.
Our network manger is the typical know it all IT person. The users are scared to even ask him a question. I will give him credit he does know everything and is good at what he does but he does the same thing with our email. He will sit at his desk with our mail server archive open. All incoming/outgoing email is a mouse click away from being read. The way I found this out is on several occasions he has replied to emails that were only sent to me. He basically answered the email for me and cc'd me on it . I let it go 3 times before I mentioned it to my Boss and our administrator. I know they talked to him about this but I know for sure he is still reading mine and everyone's email. I understand that being the network manager he has to monitor and make sure email is not being abused. Believe where I work its amazing people still have jobs. I think he takes his authority a little to far but I'm not in a position to open my mouth. He is so heavily involved with the network and has done so much with it there is no way he will ever get fired.

I just watch what I send through email because I know he reads it. It's a very strange work environment to work in?. Yes I am looking else where.

by wcarroll

This is totally unprofessional and unethical. If I was your friend I would be putting in place a backup plan so in the next few days I could can his butt. This is how more small/medium size companies get ruined. The nerve of this jerk. He give us that are working hard to be professional a bad name. Can him ASAP!!

by geobeck

If your friend is the tech's employer, then of course it is his decision, but I would advise not only firing him, but having the cops there when he is terminated. Of course, it would be a good idea to have another tech make sure the outgoing miscreant hasn't put any little 'presents' on the server.

by hal 9000

So he either has a VPN straight into the owners computer or more likely when he setup the E-mail account he has set the owners computer to leave mail on the server and he is clearing it remotely and clearing the mailbox at the same time.

It could be something as simple as just changing Outlook's Settings to lock him out of the loop. But I would still be worried about what else he has access to as things like this can snowball very quickly and cause a lot of harm.

Col

by cgoeckel

That is Professional Misconduct. The only reason that someone should be snooping in anothers email account business wise is IF HR suspects the person is doing something against the rules and it is in email or that person's PC.

That is having no ethics at all. They should be fired immediately with no chance to redeem. They have betrayed any trust that there was.

If there is a contract or agreement signed for usage and acceptable behavior...I am sure that he violated it many times over. It could bring a lawsuit against the company in some way.

by cgoeckel

The company my wife used to work at is the same way. The IT manager (or whatever you want to call him) was the only guy they had/have (its been 4 years) but the HR knew he was reading emails but the partners didn't want to get rid of him because he knew the system and the software packages.

I told my wife to stop sending me emails from her work email and just wait till she was home (I was deployed overseas at the time she found out), or use a free email to do it.

In a step related to this...my wife left the company about a year later because the IT guy had repeatedly formatted her laptop because of "software" issues. 4 times in a year. She lost a lot of work time because of it. Both her and the HR manager left at the same time and told the partners how things were done with him there were unethical and unprofessional and could end up bringing lawsuits against them.

W2....consulting an attorney would be a good idea. Or a legal dept if it exists in the company.

by cagedmonkey

I believe that falls under the new wiretapping laws.

I recently read somewhere how the wiretapping laws can be applied in this type of instance. Since the tech is not the intended recipient of the message and is snooping.

If I were the bosss I'd fire him so fast he wouldn't have time to get it together.

That would definitely fall under gross misconduct. The only time someone should be doing something like this is if they are asked to for investigatory purposes not for humor and to find out how someones date went. That's really pushing it. I would not give him a second chance either. Good tech or not that's way beyond acceptable.

by pc21geek

That tech's actions are not tolerable. He should be fired to set an example. If one lets those types of actions go unpunished, where is the line drawn? How much farther will the tech have to go for any consequences? What if he is reading the CFO's email, president's email etc?
Not a good example to other employees if he stays.

by latinblu

that should be reported to the bbb and the police they can start an investigation on that tech and then you could take that person to court and file a civil suit against that alledged tech then have the court system pull his or her license and ask for punitave damages from the court there is a law against this matter pursue it in full if you want this to stop

by skicat

Unless you have proof, firing him may lead to bigger issues. First off, check the logs on the server. If logging is turned off, shame on you and turn them on. Once proof has been obtained, get HR involved and HR may feel it is a place for the legal department to get involved.

Part of this admin's job requirement is to monitor and "randomly view" user's mail. Email is not private and it is company property. If this priviledge is being abused by the tech, he needs to be re-assigned or terminated.

Bottom line, get concrete proof before anyone proceeds. Then, maybe take the guy out back for an old fashioned @$$-kicking.

by beilstwh

I don't know how many ways this is wrong. At my former company, we had a procedure that the VP of Human resources and the VP of IT both had to sign off before we would monitor emails or phone calls. We had one employee that was listening in on phone calls and he was fired. We had another that (due to an error in security settings) was reading stored emails. She contacted us to complain that she could read them. We asked her why she was even trying and fixed the security hole. NO tech is unreplaceable. I have gone into jobs where they were convinced that the previous person was unreplaceable. It took about 2 weeks to figure everything out and then everything ran smoothly. Even during the two weeks, it just takes a little longer to figure everything out. Fire the tech and get on with your life. Use this as a life lession. ALWAYS cross train people in everything. Even if you don't have a criminal working for you, they could be hit by a truck. NEVER relay on only one person for anything!!!!!

by aaron a baker

You right on the nose here. The real problem here isn't Technical Genius, or Savvy or being the "Only One" who understands the system, the Real Problem is that the Tech is Question is also a friend of the Owner's. When it Finally hits the fan "And it Will" Naturally there will be hard feelings on both sides. This is the very core of the problem. Heck I even offered to stand in for the guy while he looked for another more reliable firm or Technician. I have no ambition here, I am a very busy Home Tech. However, this Owner is also "My" friend and I don't like to see him getting "Scr...around" this way. As a Professional Tech it offends me that such conduct goes on. I bit the bullet and said nothing. Only the Owner knows how I truly feel about this. This is why I've come to all of you and you've all been marvelous. There are so many different perspectives from which to look at this, but no matter where you look from, the Tech's conduct is inexcusable. I have a Ton of Copying and pasting to do as I intend to show The Owner "every single" one of there replies, I don't care if it goes to 200. Perhaps something in here somewhere, will click in and make the Owner realize just what this Tech really is. Not a friend at all but a Grandstander and a Show Off with very little in the way of true Professional Ethics and/or Moral Core.
And So I Thank all of you wonderful people for writing back to me on this.
Trust me, it's appreciated "Far More" then you can possibly know and will yet serve it's purpose.
Thank you for your Help, I'll keep coming back.
Warmest Regards
Aaron
PS
On a personal note;
As I read these;
Makes me proud to be in Membership with some of the finest people in the world.
Sorry, but I just had to. :)

by hal 9000

When you have enough you could always cut and paste to an e-mail and send them along to your friend from an anonymous Hotmail, Yahoo account so that the tech in this case gets to see how others feel about his actions. At the very least it might make him pull his head in.

Col ]:)

by james speed

Aaron,

The Bible says "All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial". This "so-called" IT tech should be fired immediately - without hesitation. If he has went across the line in doing this, he has done ALOT more. He is showing how immature he is by his actions and deeds. To even consider NOT firing him is gross business neglect.

I can say all that because I am a Network Administrator (currently in South Carolina) and have been for years. At my last hospital I was one of the Senior Server Techs at the 2nd largest public Hospital in Florida. I also administered the Exchange Server and was an admin. As you know, anyone who is an Exchange Admin can do anything they want to do. Only by authorization and in coordination with the Data Security department did I go into other users mailboxes...even then i didnt like it.

I guess most of us are answering the same way... this guy is bad news - fire him!

J Speed
Network Administrator
Laurens County Healthcare System
Clinton South Carolina

by aaron a baker

The real problem here isn't Technical Genius, or Savvy or being the "Only One" who understands the system, the Real Problem is that the Tech is Question is also a friend of the Owner's. When it Finally hits the fan "And it Will" Naturally there will be hard feelings on both sides. This is the very core of the problem. Heck I even offered to stand in for the guy while he looked for another more reliable firm or Technician. I have no ambition here, I am a very busy Home Tech. However, this Owner is also "My" friend and I don't like to see him getting "Scr...around" this way. As a Professional Tech it offends me that such conduct goes on. I bit the bullet and said nothing. Only the Owner knows how I truly feel about this. This is why I've come to all of you and you've all been marvelous. There are so many different perspectives from which to look at this, but no matter where you look from, the Tech's conduct is inexcusable. I have a Ton of Copying and pasting to do as I intend to show The Owner "every single" one of there replies, I don't care if it goes to 200. Perhaps something in here somewhere, will click in and make the Owner realize just what this Tech really is. Not a friend at all but a Grandstander and a Show Off with very little in the way of true Professional Ethics and/or Moral Core.
And So I Thank all of you wonderful people for writing back to me on this.
Trust me, it's appreciated "Far More" then you can possibly know and will yet serve it's purpose.
Thank you for your Help, I'll keep coming back.
Warmest Regards
Aaron
PS
On a personal note;
As I read these;
Makes me proud to be in Membership with some of the finest people in the world.
Sorry, but I just had to. :)

by wmcmillin

That is all I need and I will come up there for a weekend and help you out. This kind of behavior is deplorable! This is why the laws are in place to begin with. For the protection of the company. When this guy is fired, (and he needs to be fired immediately) you can still reset passwords, deny access without his help. It will be more involved, but it can be done. I agree with my colleagues that leagal action must be taken! Not only for the sanity of your friend, but for justice and make an example of this criminal (that is exactly what he is). Your friend is a victim of crime. Take action. You must stand for something, or fall for anything!

Bill

by aaron a baker

Now that's one HECK of an idea, Col. Send it to anybody and everybody all around him too. Who knows it just might get through his thick arrogant Skull.
A great part of the problem with these types is that they walk around like they are God's Gift to Computers and people are supposed to bow as they walk by. "Thank GOD this isn't everybody" but when you have run into a few of these it's easy to see why the general public resents distrust us. It always amazes me to see a client become kind and human when they realize that although a "Tech" that they feared, I too am Human, can be hurt, can be funny and am generally a nice guy. This always seems to shock them. Come's with the territory I guess. They get completely blown away, when I take the time to explain "In English" what is it that I am doing in a way that they will understand. I always make sure they are left feeling like this is "Their Computer" and that they should know what's going on. I've made a lot of friends that way and I strongly suspect, so have we all. That to me is the mark of a True Professional, Not these "Full of Themselves" types who only know how to talk "Technalese??" leaving the client befuddle and feeling like an idiot.
I like to make friends, we maybe working on Computers, but this is still a People Business and
I for one, Like it that way. :)
Take Care Col
Warmest Regards :)
Aaron

by toni

It's not just a matter of "simply not done" - this psycho is a danger to your friend! Fire him YESTERDAY!

by mary.d.montgomery

As with any company, you need to rely on other sources than your own to know if your company is up to par. Bring in a few IT Pros to check your system out. Have this guy monitored...as a matter of fact, have an IT Pro come in and do a history on his system, that will tell what he has been up to and also proof for you to fire his butt!!!!

by trek05

Using ones technical expertise to invade the privacy of a client, a person that trusts you, is a huge violation. I cannot believe that snooping is not enough for this tech, but he feels the need to "follow up" on the messages with the intended recipient. That tech has no need to be in that position, and should be terminated ASAP. If he snoops in one area, guaranteed he's trying to snoop in others.

Good luck.

by onepoohbear

Completely inappropriate. Email is private. It's the same as breaking and entering into a house.

by go_jetskiing_800sxr

Get over it. Tell your friend to stop using company time and resources for personal use! It's as simple as that--problem solved!

by hal 9000

But Small Business where an outside Consultant is reading the owners e-mail.

Do you still hold the same attitude? And far more importantly in big business is it acceptable for any tech monitoring e-mail to ask personal questions about the content of e-mail?

I can just see it now some tech walking up to a salesman and commenting on how much commission that he got on that last sale so he's right to buy several rounds to night at the pub. If I did something like that I would expect to get hit at the very least by the person in question and then have them make a direct complaint about my actions to their HR Department.

There is a very big difference between monitoring e-mail when told to and taking it upon yourself to do this and then make it widely known that your are snooping without proper authorisation.

Col ]:)

by cadams

I am the network administrator at a public jr high. We are told that our email can be published in the paper at any time. I also dameware to most of the computers on campus to do updates. I feel that email is the property of the person it was sent to. I have enough of my own email to read without wanting to read someone else's email.

by david_conway

without question this is unprofessional. As we all know email, voice mail etc.. are not personal they are sent to the corporate email system where certian policys are enforced. this is the ONLY reason anyone other then the associate should access anyone's mail box.

by kewms

My perspective on this is a little different, as I'm a business owner, not a tech.

First, I'm delighted to see that you folks are universally condemning this clown. I already knew that most IT folks are ethical, but it's always good to see more evidence.

Second, I'm shocked that your friend is even considering not firing this bozo. I'm married to my IT guy, and he *still* doesn't read my email without permission. Someone with such questionable ethics shouldn't be taking out the trash at your friend's company, much less wandering around inside the IT inner sanctum.

Nor should any employee be as irreplaceable as your friend thinks this person is. Even honest people get sick, go on vacation, and move on to other opportunities. If anyone is so valuable that he can't even be fired for gross misconduct, the business is doomed.

Katherine

by f3r4l

Well, I work in the banking industry and the company I work for has a very positive reputaion for its ethical conduct. Their standards are so high that even the mere appearance of impropriety whether there is actual impropriety or not is grounds for termination.

Your friend should flush this guy like the turd he is. No matter how good this guy is Tech wise even matters, there will be atleast 100 resumes for your friend to sort through the day after he fires this clown.

by chriscarp

i also work at a bnk, and our policy prohibits the use of our bank email for sending anything deemed to racial, sexual, religious, etc... but how do you monitor that?

is there a law that prohibits the monitoring of email? in our internet usage agreement, each employee signs that they understand email belongs to the bank and therefore management has the right to review it if any problems arise... but to me, that's like tapping a phone. i guess you would only do it if you really suspected gross misbehavior?

by hal 9000

We only did things like this when we got the Police involved for really serious perceived crimes. There has only been one occasion when we actually got the Police involved where it appeared that a teller was emptying out old & recently Deceased peoples accounts and transferring the money into their own account. When all was said and done it turned out to be the manager using an account that he setup in one of the staff's name who was doing it. But it's something that I certainly do not care to repeat ever again. That was hell while the investigation was going on and even then we would have ended up with the wrong person if I had of shut off the monitoring straight after the arrest as another e-mail was sent on the suspects account when they where not there which eventually lead to the correct person being charged but it was hell in the meantime as the nontechnical Police had all the evidence that we had provided which seemed to point to a different person to who was committing the crime.

The only thing that made things bearable was the internal Bank Fraud people who where the only one who actually understood the evidence that we had gathered.

Col ]:)

by chriscarp

just curious what the law is on this matter here in the U.S.? I know what the IT guy did was unethical and immature and many other things, but was it illegal?

by rob

Unless he sent messages to someone outside the agency or information, or posed as someone else. Other than that, it's just unethical.

NO ONE is irreplacable, fire his big head!!

by convextech

Your friend needs a paper trail on the IT Tech before he can fire him, but after three reprimands, he is GONE. He should have been gone already!

by jturner1

Is the tech an out side contractor, if yes don't use him anymore, if he is an employee, start looking for a new tech and once you find him his first job is to lock the old tech out of the system before you fire him, and don't let the other old tech know what is going on because as soon as he finds out he can do alot and i mean alot of damage if his access is not removed. and just to be sure, have everyone change there passwords and double check for accounts on the system with administrator access. Techs like that make me sick, but it does let you know the value of a really good tech, when you have to deal with the problem of a really bad one. ;)

by gsg

I'd email HR with a complaint and detail everything out, and ask for a firing

by cliff6

Let the tech go. It's an intregrity issue that , very possibly, could bring down the company.

by lsmith1989

They thing is, is there a specific policy in place about reading other folks e-mail in the company?

If there is no such policy, then the tech can still be fired but you need to document get tangible proof that he is doing these things. Otherwise he can always play the age,race,harrassment card even though that is not what happened and it will be messy and hurt the company's image.

My advice is this, have your buddy the owner confront the tech in a professional way and ask him if he thinks he should be doing this and why. Then, have your friend meet with the other top dogs of the company and write a policy or 'code of conduct' and notify all employees about the code and the reprimand process when the code is violated.

Then, if the Tech does it agian he can be fired according to the code of conduct with no strings attached.

Just my 2 cents.

by alexi_fella

I have recently had a complaint from a member of staff that he had proof that another employee was logging in to his email account over the weekends.

The company did not have a policy/guidelines for email and internet useage. I have now put these in place and drawn up an agreement contract which each member of staff has signed, to allow us to deal with any matters in the future.

The employee has been cautioned and measures put in place to inform staff of the importance of privacy and conduct rules. I am of the opinion that although this is a serious issue, as a first line of action, an employee should be warned of the consequences of this sort of misconduct. The 'snooping' was not for malicious reasons or any financial advantage.

I agree that when it is a Tech, he is abusing certain privileges and should be confronted and cautioned. He possibily does not understand the gravity of his actions. If this continues after he has been confronted, then he will not have a case for unfair dissmissal.

by brianec

In Australia it is illegal to read someone's email without permission. The reason being is that it is treated the same as snail mail. Snail mail is governed by the Federal government in Australia, which makes it a Federal offence.

by madmark

Okay, so Snoopy is doing his thing, logging into your buddy's system, reading his personal emails. This begs several questions from a security standpoint.

1) Do you have a Password Policy? If so, does the policy state that NO ONE is to share passwords with others? This means that your buddy shouldn't tell Snoopy what his password is, and should change his password.

2) Do you have an Ethics Policy? If so, does it spell out SPECIFICALLY that it is not ethical to do what you are accusing this clown of doing WITHOUT WRITTEN APPROVAL from some level of management that is willing to accept risk and liability?

3) Do you have an Email Policy? If so, does it state that use of the email system for personal communication is acceptable/unacceptable/limited?

4) Do you have a Privacy Policy? If so, does it state the level of monitoring and privacy that the users can expect?

5) Your overall policy documentation should also outline the penalties for breach of policy so that there are no surprises when the pink slip is delivered for breach and misconduct.

6) Every employee should read, agree to, and sign the security policies that they are subject to.

You are the poster person for security policy.

Good luck with that.
Mark

by paul232

This is not only professional misconduct, it is illegal. I don't understand why an employer would put up with that kind of behavior. The technician should be fired.

Paul

by yellowcave

If the owner and the "tech" are good friends then they may have built up a close relationship which has now crossed the bounds. If they are not that close then the Tech has crossed the line anyway.
Next time a comment comes in the owner wants to enquire as to the source of the information, ie how did you know I was on a date?
As soon as the Tech reveals in person that he has read the owners email, he can challenge him on it and take it from there.
As everyone has pointed out there are grounds for instant termination, but the only problem may be the overfamiliarity issue.
The fact that the chap is commenting shows that he is not averse to being found out so sees no wrongdoing! However the owner of the company could highlight the issue by asking the Tech why they don't have a secure email system.