BELMONT, CALIF. - March 6, 2008 - FaceTime
Communications, the leading provider of solutions that secure Web
and
unified communications (UC) in the enterprise, has seen growing
concern among large organizations over the past several weeks,
examining their ability to log, archive and retrieve instant
messages.
The recent concern is fueled in part by news reports related to
$7.1 billion in losses caused by a rogue trader at Société
Générale, a large French bank. Earlier this month, instant messages
reportedly exposed a new twist in the scandal surrounding the
record losses. Other cases also have brought e-discovery
to the news forefront in recent months, including a patent
infringement trial involving Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Corp. that
resulted in fines to Qualcomm in excess of $9 million due to its
untimely response to e-discovery requests.
Among the changes to the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure which took effect December 1, 2006, is
a broad new definition of what constitutes discoverable
electronically stored information. Companies need to keep track of
all the e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents
they store - whether or not they define them as business records -
and, if involved in litigation, be able to produce their
"electronically stored information" according to specific
requirements as part of the litigation discovery process. Put in
simple terms, if the communication is saved electronically it is
subject to the e-discovery rules.
Most companies have implemented solutions to archive and monitor
their e-mail systems, but fewer companies have established
archiving systems for instant
messaging, Web conferencing and other real-time communications
used by office workers.
The problem is widespread. Only 68 percent of IT managers are at
work locations where there are specific guidelines and polices that
govern the archiving and storage of instant messages, e-mail and
chat communications, according to the survey Greynets in the
Enterprise: Third Annual Survey of Greynet Trends, Attitudes and
Impacts, conducted by NewDiligence Market Research and commissioned
by FaceTime. Further, 45 percent of IT managers would be unable to
produce a record of a specific employee's instant message
communications if required to do so for legal purposes, and just 55
percent of IT managers surveyed have received guidance from their
corporate counsel concerning the archiving and storage of e-mails,
instant messages, chats and other employee communications. For more
information on the Greynets Survey, visit: http://www.facetime.com/solutions/greynets.aspx.
"Though the law does not grant an expectation of privacy to an
employee communicating over a work PC or network, most employees
still assume that their IM conversations are private and
unmonitored," said Frank Cabri, vice president of marketing and
product management for FaceTime Communications. "At this point in
time, it appears that they are largely correct. However, recent
cases emphasize the importance of monitoring and archiving
electronic communications and their ramifications on businesses
when not implemented."
With the rapid rise of real-time communications channels like
instant messaging, IT managers are faced with decisions about what
to block and what to allow. According to the Greynets Survey, 45
percent of IT managers are at work locations where enterprise
instant messaging or unified communications are deployed. Even at
these locations, 74 percent report that public instant message
networks are also used by employees. Put another way, employees at
up to one-third of work locations use both enterprise and public
instant messaging.
Société Générale Instant Messages Archived and
Retrieved
In the case surrounding Société Générale, the international press reported that the review
of thousands of pages of instant message conversations revealed
that the rogue trader may not have acted alone, and alleviated
concerns that bank managers had knowledge of the trader's
activities. Press reports noted that much of the trading scheme was
discussed over instant messaging, as opposed to more traditional
e-mail channels.
Société Générale's ability to retrieve these instant messages
provided a clear trail for investigators. This is not surprising,
as the financial sector has long led the way in policy and
technology to insure compliance of electronically transmitted and
stored information.
Qualcomm Fined for Not Producing ESI
Perhaps the most visible recent case involving e-discovery was
last year's patent infringement suit between Qualcomm and Broadcom.
According to news reports, Broadcom sought electronic
documents that would prove Qualcomm's early involvement in an
industry trade group, which would mitigate its right to file for
patent infringement.
As described in the March 1, 2008, issue of Corporate Counsel
Magazine, important electronically stored information of
Qualcomm was not discovered until the time of trial and by the time
it was produced, it was too late. The article reports judge Rudi
Brewster of San Diego ordered the company to pay Broadcom's legal
fees and costs in the amount of $9.26 million, ruled that the two
Qualcomm patents were unenforceable and referred the matter for
possible disciplinary procedures.
FaceTime's IMAuditor Insures Management, Security and
Compliance
IMAuditor™ is the leading enterprise-class solution for the
security, compliance management and control of instant messaging
and other real-time communication applications. The growing use of
both public and enterprise instant message applications in the
enterprise is posing both inbound and outbound security threats
that can result in security breaches, productivity loss and
information leakage.
IMAuditor supports all public and enterprise
instant messaging clients, including Microsoft
Office Communications Server and IBM Lotus
Sametime, as well as industry-focused instant message
communities such as Reuters and Bloomberg, and Web conferencing
applications such as WebEx. Deployed behind the firewall, it
provides a single enterprise-wide instant message management
solution that gives IT visibility into and control over all
real-time communications through a single interface.
About Actiance, Inc. (Formerly FaceTime Communications, Inc.)
FaceTime Communications became Actiance, Inc on January 11, 2011 following an agreement to
transfer the FaceTime trademark to Apple.
FaceTime Communications enables the safe and productive use of Unified Communications and Web 2.0,
including instant messaging, blogs and social networking. Ranked number one by IDC for five consecutive
years, FaceTime's award-winning solutions are used by more than 1,500 customers for the security,
management and compliance of real-time communications. FaceTime supports or has strategic partnerships
with all leading IM, unified communications providers and social networks including AOL, Google, Yahoo!,
Skype, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
FaceTime is headquartered in Belmont, California. For more information visit
http://www.facetime.com or call 888-349-3223.
PR Contact Information: