Litigators and Investigators Dig Up Corporate Dirt Thanks to Instant Messaging

Thanks to new IM regulations, prosecutors and investigators digging into Wall Street trading scandals and white-collar crime have a new chain of electronic evidence to discover: instant messages.

Real-Life E-Disaster Story:
Regulators Turn Their Attention to Instant Messaging

High-profile lawsuits and government investigations have put Wall Street’s use, abuse, and misuse of e-mail in the spotlight in recent years. Now regulators are turning their attention to widespread IM use on Wall Street.

The regulatory environment surrounding IM tightened after government examiners investigating Enron discovered that Wall Street traders were using instant messages and cell phones to bypass employer surveillance of e-mail and desk phones. ^[5]

With investigators now on the alert for IM evidence, watch for highprofile IM disaster stories to start making headlines, right alongside e-mail.

^[5]Elliott Blair Smith, ‘‘Wall St. Bloodhounds Track Instant Messages for Clues,’’ USA Today (September 18, 2003), B1.