Electronic Communication Privacy Act Training

The ECPA protects citizens from unauthorized wiretaps.

The Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA) was originally passed in 1986 and updated again in the year 2000. The bill was originally intended to protect U.S. citizens from unauthorized government telephone wire taps.

Eavesdropping

The ECPA prohibits unauthorized eavesdropping on any citizen by any other person, company or the United States government itself. This ban extends to accessing private messages stored on servers or intercepting messages in transit.

Lawful Monitoring

The law allows for the government to eavesdrop on an individual after obtaining a warrant from a federal judge.

Training

The Computer Security Act of 1987 stipulates that all government employees who work with a federal computer system undergo periodic training in computer security and accepted computer practices, that latter of which the ECPA partially dictates.

References

• Information Assurance Fundamentals (IAF) Training: Lesson 16---Legal
• U.S. Department of Justice: Federal Statutes---Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA)
• House.gov: Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 2000, Digital Privacy Act of 2000 and Notice of Electronic Monitoring Act