Email Retention Policy

1. Overview

See Purpose.

2. Purpose

The Email Retention Policy is intended to help employees determine what information sent or received by email should be retained and for how long.

The information covered in these guidelines includes, but is not limited to, information that is either stored or shared via electronic mail or instant messaging technologies.

All employees should familiarize themselves with the email retention topic areas that follow this introduction.

Questions about the proper classification of a specific piece of information should be addressed to your manager. Questions about these guidelines should be addressed to the Infosec Team.

3. Scope

This email retention policy is secondary to the eCuras policy on Freedom of Information and Business Record Keeping.   Any email that contains information in the scope of the Business Record-Keeping policy should be treated in that manner.  All eCuras email information is categorized into four main classifications with retention guidelines:

4. Policy

4.1 Administrative Correspondence

eCuras  Administrative Correspondence includes, though is not limited to, clarification of established company policy, including holidays, time card information, dress code, workplace behavior, and any legal issues such as intellectual property violations.   All email with the information sensitivity label Management Only shall be treated as Administrative Correspondence.  To ensure Administrative Correspondence is retained, a mailbox admin@eCuras has been created; if you copy (cc) this address when you send an email, retention will be administered by the IT Department.

4.2 Fiscal Correspondence

eCuras Fiscal Correspondence is all information related to revenue and expense for the company.  To ensure Fiscal Correspondence is retained, a mailbox fiscal@eCuras has been created; if you copy (cc) this address when you send an email, retention will be administered by the IT Department.

4.3 General Correspondence

eCuras General Correspondence covers information related to customer interaction and the business’s operational decisions.  The individual employee is responsible for email retention of General Correspondence.

4.4 Ephemeral Correspondence

eCuras Ephemeral Correspondence is by far the largest category and includes personal email, requests for recommendations or review, email related to product development, updates, and status reports.

4.5 Instant Messenger Correspondence

eCuras Instant Messenger General Correspondence may be saved with the logging function of Instant Messenger or copied into a file and saved.  Instant Messenger conversations that are Administrative or Fiscal in nature should be copied into an email message and sent to the appropriate email retention address.  The Jabber Secure IM Client is the only IM approved for use on eCuras computers.

4.6 Encrypted Communications

eCuras encrypted communications should be stored in a manner consistent with eCuras Information Sensitivity Policy, but in general, the information should be stored in a decrypted format.

4.7 Recovering Deleted Email via Backup Media

eCuras maintains backup tapes from the email server, and once a quarter, a set of tapes is taken out of the rotation, and they are moved offsite.  No effort will be made to remove email from the offsite backup tapes.

4.8 General Standards

Approved Electronic Mail

Includes all mail systems supported by the IT Support Team. These include, but are not necessarily limited to Mailchimp. If you have a business need to use other mailers, contact the appropriate support organization.

Approved Encrypted email and files

Techniques include the use of DES and PGP. DES encryption is available via many different public domain packages on all platforms. PGP use within eCuras is done via a license. Please contact the appropriate support organization if you require a license.

Approved Instant Messenger

The Jabber Secure IM Client is the only IM approved for use on eCuras computers.

Individual Access Controls

Individual Access Controls electronically protect files from being accessed by people other than those specifically designated by the owner. This is accomplished on UNIX machines by careful use of the chmod command (use man chmod to find out more about it). On Mac’s and PC’s, this includes using passwords on screensavers, such as Disklock.        

Insecure Internet Links

Insecure Internet Links are all network links that originate from a locale or travel over lines that are not totally under the control of eCuras.

Encryption

Secure eCuras Sensitive information in accordance with the Acceptable Encryption Policy. International issues regarding encryption are complex. Follow corporate guidelines on export controls on cryptography, and consult your manager and/or corporate legal services for further guidance.

5. Policy Compliance

5.1  Compliance Measurement

The Infosec team will verify compliance with this policy through various methods, including but not limited to periodic walk-thrus, video monitoring, business tool reports, internal and external audits, and feedback to the policy owner.

5.2  Exceptions

The Infosec team must approve any exception to the policy in advance.

5.3  Non-Compliance

An employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Revised: March 14th, 2018

Table of Content

  1. Acceptable Encryption Policy
  2. Acceptable Use Policy
  3. Clean Desc Policy
  4. Data Breach Response Policy
  5. Disaster Recovery Plan Policy
  6. Digital Signature Acceptance Policy
  7. Email Policy
  8. Ethics Policy
  9. Pandemic Response Planning Policy
  10. Password Construction Guidelines
  11. Password Protection Policy
  12. Security Response Plan Policy
  13. End User Encryption Key Protection Policy
  14. Acquisition Assessment Policy
  15. Bluetooth Baseline Requirements Policy
  16. Remote Access Policy
  17. Remote Access Tools Policy
  18. Router and Switch Security Policy
  19. Wireless Communication Policy
  20. Wireless Communication Standard
  21. Database Credentials Policy
  22. Technology Equipment Disposal Policy
  23. Information Logging Standard
  24. Lab Security Policy
  25. Server Security Policy 
  26. Software Installation Policy
  27. Workstation Security (For HIPAA) Policy
  28. Web Application Security Policy
  29.  Analog/ISDN Line Security Policy
  30. Anti-Virus Guidelines
  31. Server Audit Policy
  32. Automatically Forwarded Email Policy
  33. Communications Equipment Policy
  34. Dial In Access Policy
  35. Extranet Policy
  36. Internet DMZ Equipment Policy
  37. Internet Usage Policy
  38. Mobile Device Encryption Policy
  39. Personal Communication Devices and Voicemail Policy
  40. Removable Media Policy
  41. Risk Assessment Policy
  42. Server Malware Protection Policy
  43. Social Engineering Awareness Policy
  44. DMZ Lab Security Policy
  45. Email Retention Policy
  46. Employee Internet Use Monitoring and Filtering Policy
  47. Lab Anti Virus Policy
  48. Mobile Employee Endpoint Responsibility Policy
  49. Remote Access Mobile Computing Storage
  50. Virtual Private Network Policy