The media circus surrounding Hillary Clinton‘s emails reached an all time high this week after the F.B.I.‘s director James B. Comey announced that the former Secretary of State would not face criminal charges. Comey released an official statement about the investigation. While the official government investigation is over, the controversial website Wikileaks, leaked emails from Clinton containing correspondence about the Iraq War.
The moral of the story, be careful how you use technology at work – especially email. Most of us in the workplace have used a company email account to make reservations, invite friends to lunch and send an occasional joke. There’s another group that uses company email for everything, forwarding some emails home, bending the rules to be more efficient or avoid extra office hours.
Clinton may never escape the controversy over her mishandling of emails, but the F.B.I. investigation offers a huge lesson that society can’t escape. Using technology comes with responsibility. From work to home and school, the information we share is both precious and sensitive. It’s the reason why social media companies like Facebook and Twitter ask for changes to passwords when suspicious activity happens.
Clinton’s email scandal didn’t cost her a job, but it could cost her the job she wants. The rest of us aren’t running for political office, but our reputation in the places where we work holds a lot of weight. Before you click send or forward think about the responsibility and what the future could hold for one action.
Re-posted from New York City Wired
