lbsc 708x the record nature of electronic records college of information studies

LBSC 708X

The Record Nature of Electronic Records

College of Information Studies

Key Components of an Electronic Record

You must be able to prove:

• Authenticity

• Reliability

• Integrity

• Usability

Types of Electronic Records

• Office Automation– E-mail – E-mail attachments (in all varieties of file types,

including PDF, photo, audio, and video)– Word-processing– spreadsheets– calendars– Powerpoints– Instant messaging

Types of Electronic Records

• Data– Structured databases– Metadata– Network activity logs and audit information– Voice mail, VOIP

• Web– Website– Wiki– Blog

Sources of Electronic Information

• Organization PCs –Desktop, networks, mainframes

• Mobile devices – Blackberries, Palm Pilots, laptops

• Storage devices –Backup tapes, CDs, Zip drives, thumb drives

Electronic Records as Evidence

• Legal Foundation– Rule 901 of Federal Rules of Evidence– Federal Rules of Civil Procedures 12/06

• Record is what it purports to be

• Focus on adherence to policies and procedures– Creation, control, use, access

Electronic Records as Evidence

• Authentication– Method of preservation– Identity – name, date, origin, content

• Integrity – complete– uncorrupted– unaltered

• Usability– Attributes of storage – media, software– Procedural controls – access, audit, metadata,

reporting,– Adherence to best practices

A Question to Ponder

• On average, enterprises upgrade their hardware and software every 18 months to 3 years

• Will the electronic record you need be there, and will it be accessible when you need it?

Email

• Volume– 2005: 2.8 billion– 2008: 7 billion (est.)

• RM Policy– 50% have policy in place– 30% no mention in policy– Must be addressed due to SOX, HIPPA, etc.

Email

• RM retention based on content not type– Relate content to other business records– Preserve business email with related records– Metadata, indexing for retrieval– Search & retrieval from saved records not

daily backup media

Long Term Impact

• New focus on how to manage email, treat it as record being used to record substantive information

• Clearer, broader view on metadata and providing context for e-records/printouts

Long Term Impact

• Organizations– Still struggling with email policy– Some have 100% capture and retention– Some have “x” days before delete– A few actually schedule email by content not

type

Armstrong v. EOP

Core issues –

Is e-mail a record or transitory communication?

Does “print & file” capture full essence?

What metadata is required?

Differences between live system and archives

Armstrong v. Executive Office of the President, 1 F.3d 1274 (D.C. Cir. 1993)

Public Citizen v. Carlin

• GRS 20 lawsuit (“son of PROFS”)– Does “print & file” provide surrogate?– Can GRS 20 be extended to “program”

records (office automation)?– Supreme Court waived right to review Court of

Appeals decision

– Public Citizen v. Carlin, 184 F. 3d 900 (D.C. Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1003 (2000)

Search this e-mail

Date: 12/12/07From: Employee ASubject:To: Employee B

AttachmentA

Attachment B

AttachmentC

Websites

• Websites may be (only) source of some organization records/information

• Roles– Official information– Transactions – orders, payments, responses– Interactions – wikis, blogs,

• Common misconception –– Web information unimportant, nonrecord

Websites

• Websites are not recordkeeping systems– Legacy records– Litigation exposure

• Need to apply records management to content• “Players”

– Webmasters– Content managers– RM staff– Users

Websites

• Requirements– Official, consistent “look and feel”– Control over creation, posting, removal– Manage internal/external expectations– Records must be managed, scheduled

Wikis, Mashups, Blogs

• Wiki – website lets users add, evolve content• Mashup – integrates content from multiple

sources• Blog – web journals/logs• Online social networking

– Based on easy to use software– Software extendable by users– Interactive, evolving,– Multi-media sources

Wikis, Mashups, Blogs

• Records Management Issues– Policy: custodianship, responsibility, liability– Application compatibility– Managing creation, collection, growth– What, how much is record– Intellectual property rights– Hyperlinks– Retention – System security and integrity– Legal implications– Public access

Instant Messages

• IM – realtime communication/collaboration

• Issues– Informality of messages, user names– Lack of RM control– Question of record status– Compatibility with computer systems– Back door channel for viruses, hackers– Breadth of functionality

Instant Messages

• Organization view should be:– The information content should be handled

like all other organization information– Policies should be in place

• Business use only, personal, mixed use• What information can be exchanged• How to place information under RM control