Information Security Policy Concerns as Case Law Shifts toward Balance between Employer Security and Employee Privacy

Employee expectation of privacy within the workplace diminished as information technology use increased within the enterprise. During the same time period, increased use of information technology within the enterprise created a corresponding need for heightened information security. Technology use has continued to become increasingly ingrained within society as a whole to the point that the US Supreme Court has recognized the use of some forms of technology as part of an individual’s right of self expression. Trends in case law have increasingly defined specific, limited scopes of privacy in which employee use of information technology is protected from employer scrutiny. This paper 1 discusses the shift toward balance between employer security needs and employee privacy rights and the impact to information security policy development and implementation.