The Clinton Email Controversy: 3 Business Takeaways

The Hillary Clinton email scandal has been front-page news for more than a week, and by the looks of the brief press conference she gave at the United Nations, it's not going away anytime soon. There are still too many questions left unanswered:

1. Considering she used her mobile device for government purposes, who actually owns the data and should have access to it?
2. Should she be the arbitrator that decides which emails to hand over to the government or should there be a neutral third party to determine what was considered business-related and what was personal?
3. Why was she not forced to use a government email account when she actually posted a memo stating that all State Department employees need to follow these guidelines?

The American people may get some of these questions answered or they may not. Only time will tell. However, all of this could have been avoided if she followed her own department’s guidelines regarding proper email and mobile device usage. Business leaders should learn from this and use this as an opportunity to evaluate their company’s own mobile device management policies.

While the bring-your-own-device movement cannot be stopped, this issue demonstrates why organizations need to have clear policies in place and make sure their employees are following them. All company business should be conducted through a company-provided email.

While it is certainly acceptable to have more than one email on a device, anything company-related needs to go through the corporate email account. That needs to be made clear. That way the company always has a backup of the information and the lines of delineation between what is personal and what is private are drawn solidly. Employees need to be absolutely made aware that their employer owns that email account, not them.

Also, upon departure, that email account needs to be terminated or forwarded over to another individual who is taking over those responsibilities. It should never be the employee’s choice regarding what to hand over or discontinue. Employees should be able to keep their own device and all the email sent from their private accounts, but the corporate access should be cut off. That is why it is so important to ensure employees are clear they are to use their corporate email accounts regardless of where they are accessing the information—PC, laptop, tablet or mobile device.

Also, the “do as I say and not as I do” behavior is unacceptable. Employees already see the perks top execs get, but this shouldn’t transfer over to email and mobile device usage. Top execs are privy to more sensitive data and therefore should be forced to follow the same mobile device management and email guidelines the rest of the company follows. Having them not do so not only causes unrest among the workforce but actually leaves your organization more exposure when that executive moves on.

Managing mobile devices and setting email policies has become a gray area in many companies. It doesn’t have to be, however. Organizations still can fully support multiple platforms and BYOD, but they need clear policies in place that apply to all employees.