Microsoft has defended its right to read customer emails. According to federal court documents, the company accessed a blogger's Hotmail account in order to stop a leak about its software. The company justified the action. "In this case, we took extraordinary actions based on the specific circumstances," explained Microsoft lawyer John Frank, in a blog post.

Google added email encryption technology to Gmail in a move to make it harder for the NSA to intercept messages which move among the company's worldwide data centers. The news comes as the company has expressed outrage at the government after Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA had secretly tapped into Google's data centers around the world.

Kevin Faulconer, the mayor of San Diego Mayor, officially ended a proposal that would have erased city emails after 12 months. The policy was proposed by City Council President Todd Gloria, citing the cost of keeping these records. According to the law, the city is only required to archive such communications for a year. City Council members are pushing a city charter amendment which would require the city to keep emails and other public records for at least two years.

In an interview with Mother Jones, Nigerian Email Spammers shared some insights into their illegal modes of operation. The interview is a very interesting read for anyone who has ever wondered why anyone would share their bank account number with a so-called prince in a far away land. The spammers revealed that they do their research, scouring Facebook and dating sites to target vulnerable victims. Spammers call advance-fee email scams, in which a victim sends money to a stranger in advance, "Yahoo" jobs.

The New York health insurance exchange exposed the email addresses of some applicants this week in an email message reminding them to enroll by March 31st. The automated email went out on Monday to state residents that completed an online application process but had yet to enroll in coverage. The messaged didn't employ a bcc, and therefore recipients could see the addresses of everyone on the list.

The NSA's PRISM Internet program targets suspects by email addresses and phone numbers not by keywords such as terrorism. The news was revealed on Wednesday in a public hearing attended by NSA and FBI officials hosted by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). NSA attorneys revealed the the agency did not intended to scrape all web transmissions, but that the surveillance was tailored to expose threats.

The Law Society in the UK has warned companies to be careful when opening emails that look like they come from the organization after having received scam emails. These spam emails come from an email address such as "l9mtnig@lawsociety.org.uk." The subject line for the email reads: "Notification regarding a fraudulent activity involving [recipient name]." The emails appear to have a Microsoft Word document attached, but the attachment is really a zip file with a virus.

Brandeis University has found success by adding gaming to an email campaigns in order to encourage fundraising. The university sent out the "Louis Challenge: 2014 by 2014" emails in December 2013. The email included a virtual map of seven major landmarks on campus. Recipients were tasked with getting Justice Louis Brandeis, the university's namesake, from one end of the map to the other, but he could only move if donations were made. Brandeis alumni donated 2,025 online gifts by the end of the six-week email campaign.

Email ad network LaunchBit is redirecting its business to focus on customer acquisition for software-as-a-service companies. LaunchBit will continue to work with email publishers on advertising, but has plans to expand its platform to integrate with "non-ad channels" as well. In addition, LaunchBit has partnered with BuySellAds networks including Fusion Ads, Ad Packs, Carbon Ads, and Yoggrt Ads to run lead generation ads on the excess inventory.

Federal judge John M. Facciola has criticized the Justice Department for continually requesting broad searches on citizen's email accounts. The judge has shared his opinion in an investigation involving a defense contractor, not in a national security case. Facciola's opinion echoes the viewpoints of many civil liberties organizations who have criticized the government since Edward Snowden exposed widespread spying.