The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. It all comes down to the nature of the data you are handling. None of this makes you a bad person, untrustworthy, or unemployable. At the risk exposing my identity to a reader who knows me offline, two big things Ive leaked without running afoul of any organizational trust are: Such and such church is giving away their building and my nonprofit is under consideration to be the recipient and Were going to be filing a lawsuit against X because of Y., To clarify, Im not trying to minimize the gravity of OPs mistake or the seriousness of strict confidentiality in other contexts. It doesnt matter if it was text or Slack, a single journalist or a whole group. She got paid to pose as Roeders* mistress, once. Forgetting to attach a mentioned attachment is common, but still embarrassing. That doesnt mean youre a horrible person who should never work again! There is no other guarantee, and yet people count on it. This is incredibly condescending. Same here (investing). Because a) LW broke confidentiality. The ex-coworker reached out to me asking if I could send them a copy of the report so they didnt have to start from scratch and repeat the same work they had already done. Or did you double down on not my fault, not a big deal, and co-worker shouldnt have said anything? It was absolutely drilled into all of our heads during grad school and training that you can never, ever do this. Request a personalized demo to see how Egress Prevent will help you prevent data breaches over email. It doesnt matter that its a good friend of yours who happens to be a journalist shes a journalist, and her JOB is to tell people about things she finds out about. If you had stayed, they would never have trusted you again. If it keeps happening, you can report the sender as junk or spam to block future messages. Heres one: You work for the Census Bureau , which runs demographic surveys beyond the decennial Census, and came across [popular celebrity]s personal info, perhaps noting they live near you. There are many ways to say thing like this without lying. But would the government do that? This disclosure was not inadvertent, and trying to frame it that way could backfire pretty hard. Honestly this feels well intentioned but not right. Or, maybe they totally overreacted, who knows its impossible to say from here. You might add to Alisons script, I knew immediately that I needed to report my indiscretion, and I did so right away. You are allowed to feel your feels about things, so long as you understand the reality. I see it a lot and I wonder sometimes if its not sending the wrong message that its okay to break confidentiality because Friendship/Family Conquers All or something. I wonder how trustworthy the LW considers themself (sp?)? Id spend some time processing how you felt and trying to learn to take accountability and personal responsibility for this (and seriously its something thats really uncomfortable and hard for everyone but it helps so much). I recently saw a movie in pre-screening thats being pushed to be a blockbuster. (Im not from the US, and not in government) If I were in OPs place, I would also be upset and feel betrayed. It would have been nice for her to warn you that she was going to report it, or even given you a chance to do it yourself so it would have gone over a bit better. And if I tell anyone, including a coworker ,that I processed said claim, my butt could very well get in a lot of trouble. You got a hard hit, and I am sorry for all the difficulty that causes. Mostly, Im saying this to you so that you understand that you should never have trusted that co-worker to keep that kind of information to herself, no matter how much of a mentor shed been to you I do think that she should have told you that this was serious enough that she couldnt not report it. If youd like to learn more about human layer security and email data loss prevention (DLP), you can explore our content hub for more information. Theres no such thing as blind-siding once youve committed an infraction and people have to act on it. I am a govt worker in NY. I think particularly since its the government, they couldnt take the risk of it happening again and it becoming public that not only was their a breach of confidentiality but that the person responsible had done it before. Also, she wasnt a journalist I ever interacted with professionally shes a friend Ive had for years. This was more or less what I was thinking. There is a greater issue here regarding judgement. While it is possible the line could be actively tapped/monitored by someone else, even if it was an unsecured line it would be reasonable to assume the home phone number on file for GSA's dad would lead to the dad. Many types of information are protected only during specific time frames insider trading comes to mind as a particularly nasty one disclosing inside information about a pending large contract award or trade is absolutely firable. It's difficult to prevent a leak from happening again if you don't know how it occurred in the first place. But your friends profession means you often cant share these types of things with her because of other peoples perceptions about it they dont know your friend, and while she may take off the record seriously, some journalists dont and your coworkers have no way of knowing which type of journalist she is. But despite how liberal weve gotten with sharing information, you really do have to be very strict about upholding confidentiality policies without making any exceptions. It may be that the decision is made and it is just a matter of time before you are gone. Lack of the maturity to keep exciting news to onesself. Your failure to understand the gravity of your actions is alarming. +100 to this. obviously i cant know that for sure though. But when I wrote letters to the llama farmers whose llamas had bitten a client whose story about her life-threatening goat allergy was featured in the papers (obviously this is not what actually happened), I had to be sure I didnt say anything about the llama farmer letters that could link to the goat story. However, were only human. Was alphabet city watching his ass, no idea. This is so well said. However, if the message appears urgent to somebodys life or career, its likely youll want to consider stepping in. Tessian Cloud Email Security intelligently prevents advanced email threats and protects against data loss, to strengthen email security and build smarter security cultures in modern enterprises. You are fortunate to get the opportunity to learn it early when it hasnt resulted in severe long term consequences. Fwiw the journalist agreed to destroy the info. Im sure the OP will find a new job. Then, when someone particularly notable would enter our database, we would get a reminder email not naming names but reminding us that no matter how interesting the information is, its private and not ok to share. Once you realize that you are likely on the road to employment termination, you need to know that there are options: Responding To The Red Flags. However, it is unlikely that the circumstances of your firing will be able to be overlooked by an employer who needs to trust your judgment with sensitive data, definitely for the foreseeable future, possibly for many years into your career. She had no idea whether the friend would blab or not. Im also a public affairs officer for a government agency- one that almost exclusively deals with highly classified information. Actually advertising is not going to be any better. I replaced someone who had embezzled from the (small) company. The fact that the LW just couldnt resist sharing this tidbit should have been a red flag that maybe her friend couldnt, either. I made a similar dumb mistake in my first professional job by sharing something that wasnt sensitive but was nonetheless governed by a broad company-wide confidentiality policy a complaint email sent to our companys contact us address by a customer whose name and address I had omitted. Its always easier, at least to me, to close your mouth than open it. While I was working there, I started dating an entertainment journalist who then covered some Marvel projects, and there were definitely things that happened at work which I did not share with him because of my NDA. A 40 year old making the same mistake would be much harder to trust later. And sometimes at shows they dont identify themselves as press immediately. Im a publicist. [TN] Accidentally emailed very confidential information. What - Reddit Like X candidate is running for president!. But what you do when youre on the other side of the inbox? Messages like this can simply be ignored and deleted. OP notes that she is a government employee. Breach of confidentiality can be described as an act of gross misconduct, so deal with issues that arise in a timely manner, in line with your procedures and look at any previous cases to ensure fairness and consistency. As this was almost the entirety of your job they really couldnt keep you around. e.g. While they may not state why someone was fired, Ive found it pretty common to state that someone was fired (or laid off etc) and if the person is eligible for rehire. Training in this area is important generally, but a communications/ PR person should not need to be reminded to keep sensitive information confidential thats a very basic aspect of the job. I think that WAS her second chance, and I think something she said at the meetings (perhaps about how the problem is the coworker for being a rat) blew that second chance. This is why you never ever confidentially share work-related things with colleagues. She knew about a leak and didnt say anything, who knows what else she is helping to hide, My boss, in a well meaning way and to correct some weird barriers previously put in place by the person before him, told me openly that if Big Boss [aka the owner] asks you anything, just answer him, its all good, you dont need to filter things through me or anything., And I just tilted my head and laughed at him saying Even if you told me differently, I would tell him whatever he wants to know. Which given our relationship he just giggled and responded with of course and thats the way it should be.. How did you talk to your boss about the slack channel full of journalists? Were you able to correct the factual mistake in context, and what phrasing did you use? Its part of driving a media and product blitz where it basically shows up out of nowhere because everyone has been working on it quietly so it would all be ready for the big day. If there was no record, then there is no possible sanction under FOIA or sunshine law (because that only pertains to records). LW, please, please look hard at what happened and how you can promise yourself first of all that this was the last time. I understand that the breach was very bad and that the organization needed to take some disciplinary action, but it seems to me that firing an employee who fessed up to something like this to a senior coworker sends the message: If you mess up bad enough, dont tell anyone. I just want to remind people that it happened. And then THAT person got so excited that they just had to tell someone Each person thinks theyre only telling one other person, and that they can trust that person. Journalists discuss things all the time that dont make it into published stories, or make it into stories that get killed, or get used for shaping further investigation, or even just as gossip. Have you learned from your mistake? While it clearly appears LW would not have done any of this, the regulations and policies are written to protect the employer and coworker from any potential negative actions. What Are the Ways to Respond to an Unintentional HIPAA Violation? Oh, I wish Id seen this before replying. Even when it doesnt rise to the level of legal shenanigans might happen, it can be pretty serious. And definitely let go any butthurt about your coworker they did nothing wrong and followed clear policies on reporting this incident. Access rules are very, very strict, and there are reminders all the time. This will suck for a long time writing this post has made me feel anxious thinking about my own lapses and consequences from years ago but it all works out in the end. Absolutely this. As soon as someone has decided you're not a team player, or are a problem employee, then even tiny things get seen as evidence that you should be fired. This is 100% on you. Im also a supervisor. Id had excellent feedback up until then (if this is true), but I mistakenly shared some non-public information with a friend outside the agency, and they let me go as a result. ), Im guessing it was something more like: Thank you for following up with Alison and here in the comments, and Im sorry for what youre going through. I agree that its ok to be upset with people, even if its irrational or illogical, as long as we ultimately let it go and refrain from mistreating someone because of our illogical emotional response. But it could be that GSA's dad had a code/password to verify it was actually him and the caller forgot to verify that first. Work It Out: If I Share Private Information Accidentally About My Yeah the world just being what it is, if youre this bad at keeping secrets, youre gonna get burned by it pretty quick. How on earth could you know this was a misunderstanding? Youve got some great feedback from Alison and I hope it all works out for you. This is a good way to think about it. I didnt agree with it myself, and knew that it wasnt really possible without raising a lot of money, something my organization just isnt that good at doing. It sounds like youre taking responsiblity for your actions and are doing your best to move on. And if we do, well tell them not to tell anyone.. I tell the character and imagine their response, and the urge to share subsides. You may not even realise your mistake until the person you meant to send the message to says they didn't receive it (or you have a flurry of missed phone calls, as in Serena Williams . Lack of integrity. That response will likely impress an employer that she has grown and learned, that she is honest and has some self-awareness, and that she would be worth trusting. Sharing HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL info with a JOURNALIST? I supervise a manager who falsified an employee write-up but I dont think she should be fired. Im not sure you can conclude that it was publically disclosable. Rather than leading you on and allowing you to continue to work for them under a cloud of mistrust (and all the downsides that come with that), they made a clean break and released you to get a fresh start elsewhere. If it was the 2nd option then, yeah, they were going to let you go. So yeah, confidential stuff is confidential for a reason. I DEFinitely sometimes shared those tidbits with friends and family who were big tiger/hippo/etc fans. Yup. Thank you for pointing this out! Agreed. I have absolutely no clue in your situation, but there are times when it really can be appropriate to let someone go without any second chances. And if the coworker didnt tell and it somehow got out that she knew another job lost. Its a risk when you ignore these compliance issues especially willfully. This is how old I am. Even if you feel that way, definitely dont say that! And off the record requests from journalists arent mandated by law. I will be in so much trouble if anyone finds out! your blindsided coworker is not required to enter into a cover-up conspiracy with you. I agree with you that its ok for OP to feel resentful (at least in the short-run)! Like you said, it was a breach and thats serious on a professional level (your friend is a journalist, too! If I ever texted a journalist about nonpublic information Id be fired. Leaking private information in a huge breach, especially if that leak is to a journalist. (Most companies that use these kinds of scanners dont let employees know. You need to be ready to show that you understand that you have responsibility to understand and comply with policy, and that you're willing to do that. Its good to hear from you! Also, legally email addresses themselves dont typically count as 'personal information' as they are contact addresses and are treated in similar ways to phone numbers legally, as opposed to, say, identifying information like full name, DOB and home address all in one document. So please think about that aspect when youre thinking about how she ratted you out. Sure, its not going to be easy, but being honest and upfront will serve them a whole lot better than a potential employer finding out from a different source (and its not unlikely that they will find out). You violated your contract so your previous employer had little choice but to let you go - your new employer will understand this but if you show them you've accepted responsibility for it and will make sure never to do that again then I think you've got a good chance of getting another position. Log the incident in an 'cyber accident book'. Some agencies will only provide title and dates of employment, which is a lucky break for you. Right. OOPS! OP if I was part of an interview for you, and you brought up this situation the way its phrased here, Im sorry to say it would be an immediate pass. Those kinds of disclosures often rise to the level of immediate termination, which is what happened, here. Ive been under NDA for things I cant even disclose to my boss, much less a friend outside the organization. She shared it via text not voice, but text, which could be seen by someone else. No matter how small the company, they trust you to safeguard the data, and you didnt do that. Thats why they told you no. But this was a self-inflicted wound, and you shouldnt frame it otherwise. I was coming to the comments section to say the same thing. This reminds me of people whose response to hearing no is well, how do we get to a yes? LWs response to this was unacceptable and we cannot have a person on our staff who would do this, was Oh, okay, well, next time I have a similar opportunity here I wont do this.. I want to caveat that when I originally wrote this, it had just happened and I was still extremely emotional about it, which is probably why I chose to leave out important information in my initial question. The Expert above is not your attorney, and . Whats not fine is trying to take somebody elses, or dramatically moping about it until someone gives me theirs. When I read the letter, it struck me that the VERY EXCITING nature of the news was more of a reason NOT to share it. How to not get fired from work for what you post or send online: Make sure your Facebook and social media accounts are locked down. For most cases in the US, I'd expect it to be legal. Gossage said he believed he was speaking in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly, but the story subsequently appeared in the Sunday Times, to the dismay and rage of the author of the Harry Potter books.. Look the UK Foreign Office is currently knee deep in a police investigation into information thats been leaked to journalists and the consequences are potentially extremely serious. That would likely lead to your manager also getting fired (for not firing you in the first place) and also make your entire department/agency look bad to the public (whod be wondering who else still working there has done something similar without getting fired). Agreed. I am in this place when I read OPs response. It made it seem like some part of OP still feels hard done by, rather than really getting it. We received a staff email that shared that they were going to release some BIG news about positive new office changes and remodeling and that there was going to be a BIG press conference in 2 days at our office with a lot of high-up political bigwigs and asked everyone to show up for support. Perhaps the email was intended for a client in which case the clients data is at risk and the sender has inadvertently committed a data leak. Or you mistyped her email by one letter and it went to a colleague who had no reason to respect the embargo? She did her job. YOU know you wouldnt do it again, but nobody else can really know that. 3. Fortunately, I was not fired for the mistake, but my employer did call me on the carpet for a very serious discussion on why we cant share any information that we only have access to because we work there, regardless of how sensitive or not sensitive we think it is on a case-by-case basis. They have absolutely no obligation to keep secrets for government agencies or private companies. Feelings can be irrational though, or overblown, or immature, or any number of shades of wrong that means you shouldnt give them 100% credence. Practice talking about it until you can truly pull it off. (Especially since termination hearings and the related records are often public records once the employee is terminated, so any concerned employer could just do a records request and get the whole story.). Some are minor, some are devastating. Sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise. I didnt read it that way, its not a question of the coworker being Untrustworthy, its a matter of the OP not being able to judge who she can trust to keep things quiet. For me, that was it. never actually say the words Gross Misconduct. Take ownership and accountability of it, because for better or worse, all of us could have made OPs mistake at some point in our careers. Before I was born, there was a project where mother had to get clearance as well. Ideally. (Even if its not an area she covers, she likely knows the person who does, and journalists share tips/info all the time.). From a government point of view, the only thing that matters is this: LW was trusted to handle confidential information and keep it inside the agencys control; instead she passed that information to someone outside that permission (whose job is to disseminate information to the public!) In a couple of hours, the news agencies were calling the federal government, to verify the news. There are different levels of confidentiality for different circumstances. But you see that now I hope. Or if youd like to start a trial, get in touch and well be more than happy to arrange a free demo with your IT team. I understand that you get that what you did was a very big deal as a single event, but I think you might need to spend some more time examining for yourself why you would describe this as a victimless crime. The fact that your friend didnt as far as you know tell anyone else about your bombshell doesnt meant that nothing happened. Am I missing something? Thats how a lot of people get found out in the end, it doesnt just stop with telling that one friend. If you lie during the interview and the truth later comes out, thats enough to get you fired. You made yourself very vulnerable, your mentor knew that, and unfortunately, youre now bearing the consequences. It sucks this happened, and Im sorry that this was the way it all went down. At the same time, though, its a program the average American would likely never have heard of and would give less than a crap about. Then your story isnt just I did something wrong, they found out, and I got fired, its I did something wrong, I knew it was a mistake and told a senior member of my team about it, and as a result I got fired. The more you can acknowledge that you took responsibility for your mistake, the better it sounds for a potential employer. Plus you might be doing them a massive favour when it comes to catching a data breach early. Just wanted to point out that OP said they worked in the government, so while yours might be the public understanding of confidential, it wouldnt apply to anything their job considered confidential. Does your company know she could have called the police? Theres no mitigating circumstance here. The mistake may not have been trusting the friend with that information, but it was definitely telling her. We were interviewing someone who had broken the #1 cardinal ethical rule in our industry (a branch of health care). But how do I explain this to show I learnt from my mistake and get a new job. Email Mistakes at Work: How to Survive Them - CBS News The only thing even slightly puzzling is why during the conversation with the mentor, mentor didnt say you do understand I am obligated to report this? Maybe mentor thought that might prompt LW to do something track-covering so it was better left going directly to the bosses without warning. Yes, or that appalling line by E M Forster, written just before the Second World War: if I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend I hope I should have the guts to betray my country. They would definitely see any mention of confidentiality breach as a huge red flag and drop OP from the hiring process at once. Oh, so LW cant keep a secret from her reporter friend or her coworker, but were ragging on the coworker for not keeping LWs secret? How do I explain to those potential future employers that the only reason I got fired was because I was ratted out by a coworker for a victimless mistake and was fired unfairly, without sounding defensive? (Even before learning it was to a reporter!) Fired. There could be Official Reasons, but it could also be something as simple as the coworker, while being made somewhat uncomfortable by this confidence originally, got more and more uncomfortable the more she thought about it. I think she got paid in sandwiches and the knowledge she was the only woman to neck with Nero Wolfe, though. Send the attachment in a follow-up email and, in the future, attach the document before you even begin writing your email.