Did you know?
Are you forwarding your Archdiocese of Denver email to another email account, like Gmail? If so, you are putting yourself at risk of spam, phishing, and having your emails read and indexed by Google for monetary purposes.
What does that mean?
Your Archdiocese of Denver email is protected and encrypted by the Archdiocese and Microsoft. Microsoft does not read, index, or scan your email or attachments. This is important for several reasons. The first being that the Archdiocese has archive policies in place to make sure emails are archived and/or deleted based on the Archdiocesan Data Retention Policy. You don’t have to do anything on your end, as these policies are implemented in the background.
Your email is also safe from prying eyes and is not being sold for advertising purposes. If you forward your email to an outside service like Google’s Gmail, you are subject to Google’s policies and procedures. Doing so means that your emails are no longer secure and that your Archdiocesan emails are no longer being monitored and maintained by the Archdiocese of Denver.
Based on Google’s own policies, by using Gmail you give Google the right to index, archive, read, and distribute your email meta data for Google’s use, as well as for use by Google approved third-parties. This use is typically for such things as advertising, tracking, targeted marketing, and telemarketing.
You may be saying, “so what, I have nothing to hide”. Maybe so, but think of it this way… how many times have you sent an email to a colleague that might easily be misinterpreted by someone else, or that may easily be taken out of context? See the potential issue?
Remember, “free” services like Gmail are not really “free”. You and your information are the commodity that is being sold. Google isn’t giving you “free” email services because they like you. Google is giving you “free” email services because your data has value that they can use to build a profile about you, which they then sell that to third parties for advertising purposes, some of which is in direct conflict with our Catholic values and morals.
So what?
Why should you care? Think of it from this perspective. The world we live in is becoming more hostile to Christians every day. As we move into an ever-greater post Christendom society, what we say and do has the potential to be taken out of context and used in a negative light. This is not just true for the Curia, but even more so for our religious brothers and sisters.
As a result, be proactive and protect your communications. Use your Archdiocese of Denver email as your primary email account for all business correspondence. If you have a personal email account, like Gmail or Yahoo, and don’t want to check each account individually, then forward the personal email address to the Archdiocesan email account, rather than the other way around. Avoid the temptation to use “free” services that data-mine your information for financial gain. Even if you feel you have nothing to hide, safety is everyone’s responsibility.