Email Privacy

Wikipedia

The protection of electronic mail from unauthorized access and inspection is known as electronic privacy. In countries with a constitutional guarantee of the secrecy of correspondence, e-mail is equated with letters and thus legally protected from all forms of eavesdropping.

In the United States, privacy of correspondence is derived from the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and thus restricted by the requirement for a "reasonable expectation of privacy".

In the member states of the Council of Europe the privacy of correspondence is guaranteed explicitly by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. No public authority can interfere with the exercise of this right except "as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society". Article 8 limits the allowed derogations to the following grounds only: "in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others".

Need
The Internet is an expansive network of computers, much of which is unprotected against malicious attacks. From the time it is composed to the time it is read, e-mail travels along this unprotected Internet, perpetually exposed to electronic dangers.

Many users believe that e-mail privacy is inherent and guaranteed, psychologically equating it with postal mail. While e-mail is indeed conventionally secured by a password system, the one layer of protection is not secure, and generally insufficient to guarantee appreciable security.

Businesses are increasingly relying on electronic mail to correspond with clients and colleagues. As more sensitive information is transferred online, the need for e-mail privacy becomes more pressing.

Risks to user

Because e-mail connects through many routers and mail servers on its way to the recipie read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail+privacy