And, to be fair, based on your language about technical leaks, victimless, and ratting out I dont think your organization could entirely trust that you understand the gravity of the situation and wouldnt repeat the mistake. I guarantee you that somewhere in the company handbook for the Government Agency where you worked there is a paragraph about the obligations of an employee who learns of a data breach. Perhaps the way you feel (felt?) This is a situation that youre going to have great difficulty explaining away and I might prefer a resume gap to being at such a disadvantage. Youll also want to double-check any attachments. In my experience, it was highly effective. While they may not state why someone was fired, Ive found it pretty common to state that someone was fired (or laid off etc) and if the person is eligible for rehire. Sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise. Theres an element of common sense to be used. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Is it FOUO though? If you need to share with the boss do so. Thats the one that needs to learn to keep things to herself? I am very, very lucky. Talking about your work on a more general level is usually allowed unless your employer or their client is unusually paranoid. And the young comment. She has to protect her job and reputation as well in the end, she shouldnt have to risk her own job stability due to your choices! He was very good about keeping track of his boundaries, and we got very used to finding ways of being politely interested in how his work was going for him without putting pressure on him about the details. Some of the stuff I handle is really interesting logistically and historically but I just do not have the right to get carried away and share it. Box-ticking SA&T wont change security behaviors. Yeah, seconding this. And if the coworker didnt tell and it somehow got out that she knew another job lost. But when the guilt is deserved, its got a purpose. And even worse when it can have legal implications like for insider trading or government secrecy. Its not about breaking a rule, its about potentially causing some serious issues by leaking information. If youre found to be lying, thats an instant rejection in a way that a well-explained firing would not be. 2 July 2018 at 9:11PM. LW told a human known to be a journalist about The Thing. No, no, no, no, no. December 15, 2009, 1:05 PM. It makes the sender aware of their mistake and less likely to bother you again in the future. You can do this, if you keep working hard on yourself. I understood her to say she texted from her cell phone. But if I did, itd basically just be gossip (I hear Senator Ys staff is really frustrated) that they could choose to report out in detail or not, and definitely wouldnt be traced back to me. Certainly not an electronic blog. Yes, the ratted me out thing is probably not a fair assessment of what actually happened here. Yes. Its definitely not a spur if the moment decision. Im so sorry and I will never do anything like that again.. I work as a contractor on a program that just announced 10 new cities will be joining. Your coworker didnt choose to know this information and does not owe you silence. The fact that you were surprised and angry (to the point of calling her a rat, essentially) speaks to the fact that you actually do NOT know who you can expect to keep things secret, at least not as well as you think. they dont owe it to you to offer that opportunity, That reminds me of the guys who say, I know I cheated on you, but I want a second chance.. Agreed. Also, no matter how good a friend someone is, if they are a journalist you need to zip your lips. We just had something similar happen at my office last week. The fact is, its just not their secret to share. I was often privy to non-public information because I was designing media campaigns around them. In "Labs," scroll down to "Undo Send" and enable it. But that was the right response to what you did. This is a bad enough screw-up that I would be contemplating a career change, or at least a pivot to an area of communications where things like confidential information and media embargoes arent ever a factor. You said it yourself that you were working on client confidential information, and sent it to your personal mailbox. I am now going to assume that its exactly that. Since its a government agency, I have to wonder if there are regulations in place about this kind of leak as well, most places that deal with confidentiality clauses arent messing around with them. Im still learning Slack, so maybe being naive. There are different levels of confidentiality for different circumstances. I did not get fired for the offense, but I genuinely learned a great deal from the experience and it changed the entire way I interacted with clients, for the better. Yikes. When telling me about the call, she said that when the checker said the guys name, she couldnt stop herself from bursting out, Wait, he told you to call me?!. It involved something the OP had learned about in confidence, but hadnt even been publicly announced and the OP blabbed about it to someone completely unrelated to her job. As this was almost the entirety of your job they really couldnt keep you around. How to answer question on moving to another country for job? (I thought Al Frankens apology to the fellow entertainer was pretty good, actually. Even if healthcare providers and business associates are compliant to HIPAA Standards, there is always a possibility of unintentional or accidental disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI). The message there is dont violate confidentiality policies. I think also this illustrates how hard confidentiality is; these are trained and likely reasonably experienced people who still couldnt resist this temptation. > On Monday, I was called into a fact-finding meeting with HR. Im interested in the fact that the journalist friend is described as 100% trustworthy. 3. It pretty much doesnt matter what field you are in the higher up you go the more likely you are to be privy to information that you MUST NOT share no matter how excited you may be. She did her job. I recall a year or so into this administration at least a couple federal departments making A Big Deal out of leaks because it seemed like every other story (usually negative) was quoting an anonymous source sharing sensitive information they werent authorized to release. When an employer says something is confidential, take it seriously If a breach is proved, the employee may be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages Howard Levitt Published Aug 01, 2019 Last updated Oct 28, 2019 4 minute read Join the conversation Unless things have changed since I was in j-school (which is a possibility), off-the-record arrangements are basically the journalistic equivalent of a pinky swear. Why Sending Data To Your Personal Email is a Security Risk - Tessian My guess is thats where some of the defensiveness in the initial letter comes from that no one would have known if not for the self-report. Or if youd like to start a trial, get in touch and well be more than happy to arrange a free demo with your IT team. The company would have thought everything was hunky dory, but they would have employee on staff who did not understand confidentially requirements. They take information security and confidentiality so seriously that they make delivery people who come to the offices sign an NDA just in case they were in the elevator with Sam Jackson. Ive been thinking a lot about apologies in general lately, and one of the most thought-provoking pieces of advice Ive seen is to always err on the side of assuming that whatever you did was a bigger deal than you think. While I agree that this needs to be explained in the right way. The only thing even slightly puzzling is why during the conversation with the mentor, mentor didnt say you do understand I am obligated to report this? Maybe mentor thought that might prompt LW to do something track-covering so it was better left going directly to the bosses without warning. How risky is sending a sensitive work email to the wrong person? ! but you just cant. Accidental disclosure of PHI includes sending an email to the wrong recipient and an employee accidentally viewing a patient's report, which leads to an . I mean in the end there is not a lot of reasons to trust either, but demonstrating ongoing cluelessness is not a good way to sell this will never happen again. I know that I messed up and I shouldnt have told anyone; in a moment of weakness I texted one of my best friends. Share information about the new roller coaster being put in at a theme park? This is a very important life lesson, both for your professional and personal life. It shouldnt happen but Id understand if it did. Your second co-worker who sexually harassed a woman was put on a PIP? Of course, it wasnt your mistake and youre under no legal obligation to do anything at all. Your first step should be to contact your old HR department and ask about their policies for reference checks. Received someone elses confidential email? The obligation to report a security breach doesnt include warning the violator. They are not neutral. The difference is if the potential for and type of jail time you risked. Wouldnt you ask why the govt didnt fire them the first time? You didnt have a right to privileged information once you demonstrated that you werent trustworthy. LW already feels wronged. Occasionally our clients have been in the media and have shared part of their story. But he either kept it so vague as to be useless or said nothing at all. Also, Im so done with people using the phrase ratted me out. Im not trying to beat up on the OP; goodness, Ive done similar things and felt the same way she does! I dont think it was over company lines. THIS ^^^ Whether it is age or just immaturity, there is clearly a major blind spot about the big picture and the potential impact resulting from this behavior. should I tell my coworker about our colleagues criminal record, I deeply regret joining my companys leadership program, and more, my company is cutting my overworked teams pay as punishment for mistakes. Oh, this is all interesting, and I appreciate all the responses. I have worked and volunteered at government-related organizations before. Because a) LW broke confidentiality. But your framing of this does sound defensive and doesnt sound like youre taking responsibility for what happened. You are allowed to feel your feels about things, so long as you understand the reality. Yeah just assume that for the next few years youre out of the running for jobs that require a confidentiality. It still sucks, but its not really personal per se, and perhaps it will help a little bit to think of it that way. Ah, no, there definitely was a record if there was any form of written communication at all about the information. Despite a good track record and being with this team for a few years now, the rules were made very clear to me and I know I wouldnt be given a second chance in that situation. That said, if this was going to be public anyways, your boss may have been inclined to write you up rather than fire you if you were sufficiently remorseful/petrified/mortified. If theyd covered up for her/not removed her access to confidential info and she did it again, their jobs would be on the line too the next time. This is what I wanted to say but you said it better. So if shes genuinely surprised at this outcome, it stands to reason that its new for her, which strongly implies she just hasnt been working very long, which implies youth. It may help you to know that the dreaded why are you unemployed right now question doesnt come up in every interview. I fully expect that whenever they find the source of the leak the people involved will face some pretty serious consequences up to and including dismissal and possible criminal proceedings. That being said, I think you can overcome this. Im sorry this happened to you, OP, Im sure it feels devastating, and it sounds like some of the details were inflated but there is a good reminder here for all of us as some things cant be undone. Can I be fired for sending a derogatory text about my boss to my - Avvo Id stay under a cloud of mistrust if that meant a steady paycheck if I didnt have anything else lined up. But imagine you are the government and someone leaked information. And then there are things you cannot even hint at under any circumstances. Understand the true risk of accidentally hitting send to the wrong person. Oh, its possible to be a rat in the workplace. If OP doesnt recognize and own up to that, thats going to be a bigger red flag for potential employers than if OP said, I made a mistake, learned from it, and it wont happen again.. It may be unfair to assume a journalist is cutthroat and would kill for a lead, but its also nave to assume they wouldnt let anything slip to the exact wrong person. :) :) :) :) Being a wealthy heiress and a socialite IS a full-time job! While it didnt result in any press, it was obviously a major lapse in judgment and I understand why it resulted in my termination. But even if there is no danger, an obligation to report is just that. From OPs comment, it seems like shes already taken responsibility for her actions and knows what she does wrong yet 95% of the comments are lecturing her about how dumb she is (not in those words, but thats undeniably the gist), which is completely unhelpful and honestly, incredibly sanctimonious and obnoxious. My employer lost a lawsuit where they had been sued for violating open records and meetings laws. It doesnt matter that the information is going public next week. If people really need jobs, they need to act like they really need jobs. Both the affected parties were amazing clients who prided themselves on solid security practices. The org needed to know in order to assess potential damage and limit future opportunities. To be fair Jules, I was making the assumption that it had been, in effect, sexual assault, which may not have been the case. If you can trust someone, you can trust them, journalist or not. She probably felt she had a duty to disclose it and she may well have. When we think about misdirected email, we often put ourselves in the shoes of the sender. I understand that you get that what you did was a very big deal as a single event, but I think you might need to spend some more time examining for yourself why you would describe this as a victimless crime. The fact that your friend didnt as far as you know tell anyone else about your bombshell doesnt meant that nothing happened. The problem here is that the OP misjudged the level of confidentially expected in the situation, and maybe by their office/profession in general. Thats why they told you no. No one is trying to tell the OP that she needs to be friends with this former coworker. The information was work i was working on at the moment and I emailed it as I needed to do work on my personal laptop ; I couldn't take my work station away whilst on extended leave overseas. I get that people can learn from their mistakes, but this could be an indicator of a lack of proper framework, and perhaps a boss wouldnt want to risk it. She was understandably very uncomfortable with what I did, and we had a very nice conversation about our duties as communication officers, and trust, etc. You cant even take a look at *your own* records if you are also a patient at the medical facility. Thats when it gets tricky. And maybe they can, and maybe that chain will end with someone who doesnt forward the info on, or peter out once the information does become public in this case. TootsNYC is talking about this latter case. Its too difficult to know which internally-discussed information is confidential and which isnt. As someone who works in PR/comms, my recommendation is to tell future employers the truth and emphasize what youve learned: She can still apply to jobs in her field, and even in the fields you noted, shell just have to be very clear in interviews that she understands why she was fired from this job and how shell work to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. That OP knew it was wrong and felt guilty about it is a sign of strength. Yep, I think its worth LW remembering that while she knew shed never leak anything again, her boss and co-workers dont. In those cases I have to be even more careful, because minor details might get linked to the news story and suddenly its not anonymous any more. I just wasn't thinking at the moment I sent the information. Is it possible to rotate a window 90 degrees if it has the same length and width? Confidentiality, especially in government, is no joke and should be taken very seriously. But you should try to understand how this happened (why that friend? I used to handle accounts, but could not handle my own. How do I prevent staff accidentally sending personal information This. I hope youre able to learn and move on from this, OP. The project Im currently working on has confidentiality and embargoes that are all geared toward creating a marketplace moment. Also ratty. Even a private company would consider this a breach of trust, and could could consider firing. When I worked for the bank in the security investigation department, we had systems in place that monitored Famous Peoples accounts and would flag them if they were opened/touched. Yeah, Im wondering that too. That was the profound breach of the OPs duty. Or well often hear from contacts on the Hill about something going on behind the scenes, like that a bill is about to be introduced. In a truly dangerous/vital public information sphere there are agency heads/regulators/IG offices/congressional members/even the police depending on the issue that you should contact before going to the press. I do have to wonder if the hospital failed to educate its employees on how freaking serious that kind of breach was, And also failed to inform them that the system tracks who looks up a particular patients record. RIGHT NOW it is totally privileged information and it needs to be treated that way. Unfortunately there are certain positions where you dont get a second chance when the error knowingly breaking a rule. Embarrassing or inappropriate communications sent via company email can damage professional credibility, reputations, and careers. The consequences are serious and could have legal implications if youre representing a government or publicly traded company. It may be a requirement of employment regarding compliance. And if it is a part of that, the coworker was obligated to report it! The LW blabbed, why would her friend have more self-control? Its also totally understandable that youre disappointed about losing your job, but they might have just considered that kind of confidentiality breach too much of a risk going forward. Oh honey UGH you are just the worst. What if I accidentally sent a work email to my personal email? Will I True, but youre talking more about deciding to become a whistleblower over something potentially dangerous to the public. I personally just try to forget that I know until the information becomes public. This is so well said. People find new jobs after being fired all the time. Right. But heres the thing you still have to have a ton of discretion about how you share and where. Damn, thats hard core. But thats not what happened here. In no time you will have your next job lined up and all this will be just a post earning you rep.
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