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