Email disclaimers - what's the point?
What is an email disclaimer?
So why might the law require me to have one?
Is there anything else I need to add?
Sounds like I should do all of this. I'd better set up some signatures on my email clients.
So what are my alternatives?
Is there a downside to adding the email disclaimer on a firewall/anti-virus/anti-spam system?
Where is the best place to add the email disclaimer then?
Why would I want to add email disclaimers to internal mail?
Do I need dedicated email disclaimer software?
Are there any other considerations?
Email disclaimers - what's the point?
Email disclaimers... they're just those annoying and pointless statements at the bottom of an email, right? So why have you come to a site devoted to the subject? The answer is most probably because you have been told you need an email disclaimer. Maybe your boss has told you to set one up. Perhaps your legal department has insisted on it. And the reason will almost certainly be because the law requires it for your industry! And as you will learn, there is a lot more to the subject of email disclaimers than you would imagine.
"But email disclaimers carry no legal authority!" you exclaim. And at this point we have to clarify what we mean by a disclaimer.
What is an email disclaimer?
Strictly speaking, an email disclaimer is a piece of text designed to try and limit liability, often placed at the bottom of an email. This is frequently combined with a confidentiality notice starting along the lines of "This message contains confidential information and is intended only for...".
This kind of text has dubious legal merit but depending on the issues involved may just sway a case in your favour.
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So why might the law require me to have one?
This is where we have to expand the definition of an email disclaimer to encompass any text that is put into a message which is additional to the main content. Also referred to as an email footer, email signature, email boilerplate and email signoff among various others, the content often includes the company name, registered office address and company registration details as this is a legal requirement for business email in many countries, including the majority of those in the European Union.
Some industries may require a company to make certain disclosure statements when communicating by email, for example those companies governed by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States.
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Is there anything else I need to add?
If you are going to the trouble of adding extra content to your emails, you might want to consider smartening up your company image with logos and personalising each message with the sender's contact information.
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Sounds like I should do all of this. I'd better set up some signatures on my email clients.
Many email clients such as Microsoft Outlook have a "Signatures" feature built-in which can be set up to enter some predefined content when you compose a message. Set it up so that every email client has the right signature and you're home free, right? Well, in an ideal world, yes, but in the real world it's a little different. Because these signatures are all set up on the client machines, users will sooner or later either delete or change your signature files. It may be deliberate or it may be accidental, but that's what users do! And if you overcome that problem, they can still deliberately or accidently delete the text straight out of the message. If email compliance regulations require you to have an email disclaimer then this method is not reliable enough.
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So what are my alternatives?
The first step is to take responsibility for adding the email disclaimer away from the email client, and set it up on a system further down the line. Possible candidates here might include a firewall, an anti-virus or an anti-spam system. Generally this type of software or device will include a feature for adding text to some or all email messages that pass through it. Assuming that all of your messages route through this system, this solution ticks all the boxes in terms of straight email compliance.
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Is there a downside to adding the email disclaimer on a firewall/anti-virus/anti-spam system?
From the purely legal standpoint the answer is no, unless your regulations require you to add a disclaimer to internal messages. In practice, however, there are some drawbacks.
Firstly, many of these systems simply allow plain text to be entered. That means no control over the colour and layout, and no logos or other images.
Secondly, there is unlikely to be any control over where the email disclaimer goes, other than at the very top of the email or at the very bottom.
Thirdly (and this is the most irritating one), there is unlikely to be any way to prevent the system adding the disclaimer again if it is already there. After several replies have occurred in an email exchange, disclaimer text can very quickly build up so that it ends up largely becoming an email disclaimer exchange, dwarfing the useful part of the message.
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Where is the best place to add the email disclaimer then?
For maximum flexibility, the email disclaimer should be added by the server that handles message transport. For example, in the case of Microsoft Exchange, disclaimers should be added on the Exchange 2003 or 2000 server itself, and for Exchange 2007 and above they should be added on the server with the Hub Transport role. The flexibility comes from the fact that these servers handle ALL emails, both internal and external.
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Why would I want to add email disclaimers to internal mail?
With the right software, you can add much more than just legal disclaimer text to your email messages. You should also be able to start differentiating between internal and external messages so that the content that you add varies depending on its destination. In fact you should be able to configure the system to go much further than that and add different content based on any number of factors, such as who the individual senders and recipients are, which groups they are members of, what content is in the email, and much, much more.
So, for example, you could add the sender's internal extension number on internal messages, and put their full contact information with email disclaimer on external messages.
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So I need dedicated email disclaimer software?
Your customers and suppliers may well receive more communication from you by email than any other medium. In some cases it may be the only written communication they ever receive from you. It is therefore important that your email communication presents your company in the most professional manner possible. Some email systems provide a solution out of the box. For example, there is a Microsoft Exchange disclaimer feature provided with versions 2007 and above. These solutions tend to be fairly basic, however.
Good quality email disclaimer software must provide several things. It should:
- Integrate into your directory services (Microsoft Active Directory etc).
- Allow you to set up rules that vary the content that is added to a message depending on any of the various attributes that the sender, recipient or the message itself may possess.
- Allow you to read content from the sender's or recipient's attributes in the directory and add it to an email. For example, using the sender's email address, look them up in Active Directory and add their Job Title, Department and Telephone number to their messages.
- Support the three different message formats, HTML, RTF and Plain Text.
- Have a rich, fully featured editor to allow you to create professional looking messages, whether just for some subtle legal text at the foot of the message, or for visual impressiveness with company logos, tasteful contact information blocks and tidy legal disclaimers.
- Allow you to add content not just at the header or footer of the email, but also after the most recent reply. If you wish, you should be able to place the company logo at the top of the message, the contact information just below the most recent reply and the legal disclaimer text at the very bottom of the message.
- Allow you to prevent the disclaimer being added multiple times.
- Provide enterprise-grade reliability and performance. Your email system is likely to be one of the most important systems in your organisation, and the email disclaimer software will potentially be processing and modifying every message. You must be sure it can handle signed and encrypted messages, messages with foreign characters, attachments, huge message bodies, meeting requests, messages from mobile devices, badly formed messages, corrupt messages and the myriad other types of messages that flow through your email systems. And it must be able to do all of this at a continuous rate of many messages per second.
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Are there any other considerations?
Having decided to add email disclaimers into your messages, several things should be considered:
- Size - don't have such a large email disclaimer that it becomes tiresome and expensive to download on devices that are charged per quantity of bandwidth consumed. Likewise, be sensible with the size and number of images that you incorporate into your disclaimer designs.
Remember also that you and your recipients are likely to be storing these messages in the email servers' message stores as well as in email journaling or archiving systems. You don't really want your storage consumed by vast numbers of lengthy repeated email disclaimers and duplicate images.
- Different message formats - If you are doing more than simply adding legal disclaimer text, it's all very well designing stunningly branded email but what happens when one of your messages turns up on a device that can only display plain text? Or what about those email clients that send in RTF? Make sure that your email disclaimer software allows you to add the email disclaimers in a way that is appropriate to the message format rather than simply synthesising a Plain Text or RTF disclaimer from the HTML original, because it will almost certainly look wrong. In other words, ensure that you can make three separate disclaimer designs relevant to the three different message formats.
- Avoid complicated HTML - it's easy to get carried away with email branding but remember that not all email clients render HTML in the same way. What may look perfect in Microsoft Outlook may look quite inferior in one of the popular web-based email systems. The simpler the code, the more likely that the email disclaimer will appear as you originally intended.
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Basel II Accord (effective 2006)
Canadian Privacy Act
Data Protection Act 1988
EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/FC
Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)"
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP)"
Financial Services Act 198, regulated by FSA
FreedomofInformationAct(FOIA)
Freedom of Information Act (in force January 2005)
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB)
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA)
IRS Circular 230
MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directives)
PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act)
The Public Information Act, Texas State
Sarbanes-Oxley 2002
SEC Rule 17a-4/ NASD 3010 (Securities Exchange Act 1934)
UK Companies Act 1985
UK Companies Act 2006 (amended 2007)
Basel II Accord (effective 2006)
Affects
International Banking
Countries
International
Summary
Basel II is an international banking accord that replaces the original Basel agreement of 1988. The
accord brings in a major shift in the way that financial institutions assess and manage risk in relation to
investments
The need for an Archiver
Given that the emphasis is in the main risk assessment, the impact on emails is likely to be the
requirement to retain all emails relating to a trade for a period of not less than 5 years, starting from
January 2003. Financial institutions must ensure that data and communication is secure, accessible
and accurate.
Further information
http://www.bis.org/publ/bcbsca.htm
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/Basel2
http://www.out-law.com/page-7096
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Canadian Privacy Act
Affects
This policy is applicable to anyone who is storing any personal data.
Country
Canada
Summary
The Privacy Act was established to protect the personal information of individuals collected by the
government. It also gives these individuals the right to access this information. It is a law governing how
private sector organizations collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of commercial
business.
The need for an Archiver
In order to comply with the Canadian Privacy Act, a law which guarantees individuals access to public
records kept by government agencies, an efficient archiving system for compliance is a must. Email is a
public record, just like any other document, it is vital that a system is in place to control the increasing
amount of email data - in addition to the ability to quickly respond to compliance requests.
More information
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/P-21/index.html
http://www.statcan.ca/english/about/privact.htm
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Data Protection Act 1988
Affects
This policy is applicable to anyone who is storing any personal data.
Countries
EU
Summary
The purpose of the act is to protect the individual rights and freedoms of persons; especially their right
to privacy with respect to the processing of personal data.
The need for an Archiver
Given that email is a major medium for exchange and storage of personal information, principles 5 & 7
effectively rule out all current mail server platforms as effective means for storing personal data. Only a
purpose built archiving system can meet these requirements. Furthermore, given the individuals right to
issue “Subject Access Request”, SAR’s, detailed search capabilities are required within an archive
repository to support these requirements in a cost effective manner. A standard mail server platform
does not meet these requirements.
Further information:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1998/19980029.htm
http://www.ico.gov.uk/Home/what_we_cover/data_protection.aspx
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/FC
Affects
All organizations, members of EU member states
Countries
EU
Summary
The European Union adopted a Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the
processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data ("data protection directive"). A key
objective of the data protection Directive was to allow the free flow of personal data between Member
States by harmonizing the level of adequate protection granted to individuals. Similar to the UK Data
Protection Act the principles of security and retention of data for only as long as is required are
common.
The need for an Archiver
The need for a comprehensive email archiving solution is clear. The Data Controller must implement
appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against accidental or
unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure or access – such elements
cannot be provided by generic mail servers as already indicated by compliance with the UK Data
Protection Act.
Further information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_95/46/EC_on_the_protection_of_personal_data
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
Affects
United States Federal, State & Local Government
Country
United States
Summary
Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) places the onus squarely on agencies and their
partners to develop information security risk assessments and mitigation strategies. It defines three
security objectives for information and information systems (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability)
and requires every government agency to secure the information and information systems that support
its operations and assets, including those provided or managed by another agency, contractor, or
other source. As part of FISMA compliance, agencies and departments should implement ways to track
the contents of all outgoing emails.
The need for an Archiver
Email is a prime medium for exchange and storage of company records. Storage in the mail-server
does not protect against falsification, nor does it protect against accidental loss or malicious removal. A
purpose built email archive system will ensure that relevant data can be maintained for the desired
retention period and maintain integrity of the records through tamper-proof mechanisms. Furthermore,
the system will provide easy search access to recover data if required by an external auditor.
Further information
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/2004_fisma_report.pdf
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.03844
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP)
Affects
Any organization in any industry that has the potential of being involved in litigation in the U.S. Federal
Court system.
Country
United States
Summary
The amendments, which went into effect on December 1, 2006, mandate that companies be prepared
for electronic discovery. The organization must know where their data is, how to retrieve it, how to meet
data requests and they must determine what data will not be subject to search.
The need for an Archiver
Organizations that do not have an automated system in place to help them effectively store, search
and retrieve email data in real-time face paying high costs for “rush job” discovery requests. In some
instances, failure to produce the requested data in a timely fashion may even lead to the loss of a
lawsuit.
Further information
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Financial Services Act 198, regulated by FSA
Affects
Financial Services Industry Sector
Country
UK
Summary
The Financial Services Act was passed to consolidate the regulatory authority of numerous agencies in
the United Kingdom. The FSA (Financial Services Authority) was created, which is an agency with broad
regulatory powers to govern the financial industry. Whilst the act itself is not specific with regard to
email retention, the FSA has imposed some guidance in relation to records retention. For example, in
relation to guidance on Money Laundering, records relating to transactions, reports and “information
not acted on” must be retained for a period of 5 years.
The need for an Archiver
Financial organizations need to review their compliance with FSA guidance in relation to the email.
Given the need to retain records for varying numbers of years, a dedicated email archive store is
required to ensure that that these requirements are met.
Further information
http://fsahandbook.info/FSA/handbook.jsp
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/rules/R198.pdf
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Affects
United States Federal, State & Local Government
Country
United States
Summary
Freedom of Information Act requires that federal agencies disclose their records to anyone making a
written request. The speed and economy of email often makes it the preferred means of delivery,
carrying risks that the wrong information might be sent or the wrong recipient addressed. Because
email has become so prevalent for interdepartmental communications, security of communications has
become a serious concern.
The need for an Archiver
In order to comply with the FOI, a law guaranteeing individuals access to public records kept by
government agencies, an efficient archiving system for compliance is a must. Email is a public record,
just like any other document, it is vital that a system is in place to control the increasing amount of
email data. In addition to the ability to quickly respond to compliance requests
Further information
http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Freedom of Information Act (in force January 2005)
Affects
All UK Government Organizations
Country
UK
Summary
The Freedom of information Act gives anyone the right to request information from a government
organization (including central and local government, the health sector, police and armed forces, the
education sector and other public bodies), about any subject that they are interested in.
The need for an Archiver
It is clear that organizations reliant upon existing email technology will not be able to adequately meet
the SAR (Subject Access Requests) in a timely and cost-effective manner. A centralized email archive
store will address all these issues, ensuring that those covered by the FOI can meet their obligations.
Further information
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/20000036.htm
http://www.dca.gov.uk/foi/foiact2000.htm
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB)
Affects
US Financial Institutions
Country
United States
Summary
The GLB Act applies to “financial institutions” – businesses that offer financial products or services to
individuals to be used primarily for their personal, family, or household purposes. Financial institutions
include, for example, banks, securities firms and insurance companies; such entities are covered by the
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Businesses that provide many other types of financial
products and services to consumers fall under jurisdiction of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) for the
purposes of enforcing GLB.
Violation of GLBA may result in a civil action brought by the U.S. Attorney General. The penalties include
those for the financial institution of up to $100,000 for each violation. In addition, “the officers and
directors of the financial institution shall be subject to, and shall be personally liable for, a civil penalty
of not more than $10,000 for each such violation”. Criminal penalties may include up to 5 years in
prison.
The need for an Archiver
Today, the vast majority of organizations use email to communicate internally and as a vehicle for the
exchange of documents and correspondence between businesses and consumers. Since personal
financial information can be transmitted by and retained in electronic formats, it is critical to ensure that
the management of such records complies with GLB.
Further information
http://www.datagovernance.com/adl_gramm-leach-bliley_glb-USA.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Affects
Virtually all organizations that deal with electronic patient healthcare information are affected.
Country
United States
Summary
All patient information, authorizations, policies, procedures and contracts with business associates
must be retained for at least 6 years. Information must be stored in robust data centers that provide
minimum guarantees uptime and very high security. Anyone who obtains and discloses information
with the intent to sell, transfer or use it for commercial gain or malicious harm can face penalties of up
to $250K in fines and 10 years in jail.
The need for an Archiver
All patient information, authorizations, policies, procedures and contracts with business associates
must be retained for at least 6 years.
Further information
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HIPAAGenInfo/
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d104:HR03103
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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IRS Circular 230
Affects
All Financial Services Organizations/Departments
Country
United States
Summary
The new Circular 230 regulations issued by the Treasury Department were effective on June 20,
2005 in response to some situations in which tax professionals issued tax advice or opinions to clients
so that the clients would have penalty protection, even though the advice or opinions were based upon
facts, assumptions, or representations that were not reasonable. These new regulations established
very high standards that a tax advisor must meet if he or she wishes to provide a client with written tax
advice that may be relied upon for tax penalty protection. Circular 230 prescribes standards of practice
for lawyers and accountants before the Internal Revenue Service, including ethical and professional
responsibilities.
The need for disclaimers
As a result of the Circular 230 regulations, any written tax advice (including tax advice included in an
email or other form of electronic written communication) must include a prominent disclaimer. The
disclaimer must be near the top of an opinion in a typeface the same size or larger than the typeface of
the tax advice. Exclaimer Mail Utilities helps ensure regulation compliance. For example, Circular 230
requires that the disclaimer must be inserted prior to the body of the email, and at a larger font size.
Exclaimer Mail Utilities handles this requirement with ease.
Further information
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/pcir230.pdf
http://www.amerilawyer.com/circular230policy.htm
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailutilities.aspx
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MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directives)
Affects
EU financial markets - Investment banks, Portfolio Managers, Stockbrokers, Broker Dealers, Corporate
Finance Firms
Countries
EU
Summary
MiFID – the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive – comes into effect on 1 November 2007, when it
will replace the existing Investment Services Directive (ISD). MiFID extends the coverage of the current
ISD and introduces new and more extensive requirements that firms will have to adapt to, in particular
for their conduct of business and internal organization.
The Need for an Archiver
Email is a prime medium for exchange and storage of company records. Storage in the mail-server
does not protect against falsification, nor does it protect against accidental loss or malicious removal. A
purpose built email archive system will ensure that relevant data can be maintained for the desired
retention period and maintain integrity of the records through tamper-proof mechanisms. Furthermore,
the system will provide easy search access to recover data if required by an external auditor.
Further information:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/About/What/International/EU/fsap/mifid/index.shtml
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act)
Affects
This policy is applicable to anyone who is storing any personal data.
Country
Canada
Summary
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act is a Canadian law designed to
ensure that personal information collected by businesses will be kept secure and will only be collected,
used and given out under a strict set of circumstances. The Act, based on ten privacy principles was
developed by the Canadian Standards Association.
The need for an Archiver
In order to comply with the PIPEDA an effective archiving system for compliance is a must. Email is a
public record, just like any other document, it is vital that a system is in place to control the increasing
amount of email data. In addition to the ability to quickly respond to compliance requests
More information
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cs/P-8.6
http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/ecic-ceac.nsf/en/h_gv00045e.html
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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The Public Information Act, Texas State
Affects
Anyone who is storing public records kept by government agencies.
Country
United States, Texas State
Summary
Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives anyone the right to access government records; and an
officer for public information and the officer's agent may not ask why you want them. All government
information is presumed to be available to the public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of
the information. Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not
confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an
exception to disclosure has not been sought.
The need for an Archiver
In order to comply with the Public Information Act, a law guaranteeing individuals access to public
records kept by government agencies, an efficient archiving system for compliance is a must. Email is a
public record, just like any other document, it is vital that a system is in place to control the increasing
amount of email data. In addition to the ability to quickly respond to compliance requests
Further information
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinopen/og_training.shtml
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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Sarbanes-Oxley 2002
Affects
All US public companies and many private organizations, and any UK companies trading on US stock
exchange.
Country
United States
Summary
Sarbanes Oxley is all about corporate governance. It came as a result of the large corporate financial
scandals involving Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and Arthur Andersen. Effective in 2004, all
publicly-traded companies are required to submit an annual report of the effectiveness of their internal
accounting controls to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Essentially, SOX legislates
what used to be IT security best practices. The major provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) include
criminal and civil penalties. Anyone who knowingly alters, falsifies, destroys, or otherwise tampers with
a document or record can be fined and/or imprisoned for up to 20 years.
The need for an Archiver
Specifically all relevant audit-related documentation must be retained for a period of at least seven
years. This includes contracts, policies, authorizations, verifications, recommendations, performance
reviews and financial data. SOX also addresses the need for companies to effectively manage risk in all
its forms—including ensuring that data residing on corporate computers is adequately archived and
protected from damage or tampering. To comply with these needs, an effective archiving system is
required that is can scale to the needs of archiving large amounts of data in a secure manner for long
periods of time.
Further information
http://www.soxlaw.com/
http://www.sec.gov/about/laws/soa2002.pdf
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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SEC Rule 17a-4/ NASD 3010 (Securities Exchange Act 1934)
Affects
All US Financial institutions and UK organizations trading on the NYSE
Countries
US, UK trading on US Stock Exchange
Summary
Among the most visible record keeping regulations are those imposed by SEC and related exchanges
on communication between securities traders/brokers and the public.
SEC rules 17a-3 and 17a-4 require broker-dealers to create, and preserve in an accessible manner, a
comprehensive record of each securities transaction they effect and of their securities business in
general.
The need for an Archiver
The US Financial Services market is perhaps one of the most heavily regulated markets in the world
when it comes to document and email archiving. All US financial organizations and any UK
organizations that trade on the NYSE are required to meet these regulations.
The member, broker, or dealer must have in place an audit system providing for accountability
regarding inputting of records required to be maintained and preserved pursuant to Rule 17a-3 and
Rule 17a-4 to electronic storage media and inputting of any changes made to every original and
duplicate record maintained and preserved thereby.
a) At all times, a member, broker, or dealer must be able to have the results of such audit system
available for examination by the staffs of the Commission and the self-regulatory organizations of
which the broker or dealer is a member.
b) The audit results must be preserved for the time required for the audited records.
The need to guarantee capture, store and maintain messages in a non-erasable manner is a key
requirement that mail servers or indeed home grown archive systems cannot deliver. Speed of retrieval
is also a key factor when dealing with Legal Discovery orders. Noncompliance is not an option with
huge fines in the region of several million dollars being leveled at organizations.
Further information
http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-46473.htm#VK
http://www.law.uc.edu/CCL/34ActRls/rule17a-4.html
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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UK Companies Act 1985
Affects
All private and public companies
Country
UK
Summary
Every company must keep accounting records which sufficiently show and explain the company’s
transactions that (a) disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time, the financial position of the
company at that time, and (b) enable the directors to ensure that any balance sheet and profit and loss
account prepared under this Part complies with the requirements of this Act. A company’s accounting
records shall be kept at its registered office or such other place as the directors think fit, and shall at all
times be open to inspection by the company’s officers. From the date on which the record is made,
private companies must retain this information for 3 years and public companies must retain it for 6
years.
The need for an Archiver
Email is a prime medium for exchange and storage of company records. Storage in the mail-server
does not protect against falsification, nor does it protect against accidental loss or malicious removal. A
purpose built email archive system will ensure that relevant data can be maintained for the desired
retention period and maintain integrity of the records through tamper-proof mechanisms. Furthermore,
the system will provide easy search access to recover data if required by an external auditor.
Further information
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga_19890040_en_1.htm
http://www.exclaimer.com/mailarchiver.aspx
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UK Companies Act 2006 (amended 2007)
Affects
All private and public companies
Country
UK
Summary
In addition to the requirements of the UK Companies Act 1985, every company should list its company
registration number, place of registration and registered office address on its website as a result of an
update to the legislation of 1985. The information, which must be in legible characters, should also
appear on order forms and in emails. Such information is already required on 'business letters' but the
duty is being extended to websites, order forms and electronic documents.
The need for a Disclaimer
If your business is a private or public limited company or a Limited Liability Partnership, the Companies
Act 1985 requires all of your business emails (and your letterhead and order forms) to include the
following details in legible characters:
- Your company registration number
- Your place of registration (e.g. Scotland or England & Wales)
- Your registered office address
This information should also appear on your company's website. Failure to comply with these
requirements puts a company at risk of a fine of up to £1000.
Example footer
Green Organisation is a limited company registered in England and Wales.
Registered number: 5464771.
Registered office: Green House, 21 Bloom Street, London, WC1 1AA.
Further information
http://www.out-law.com/page-5536
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/pdf/ukpga_20060046_en.pdf
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/pdf/ukpga_20060046_en.pdf
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