As the current scandal involving Florida lawmaker Mark Foley reveals, the trail of instant messaging communications can be a huge piece of evidence in criminal cases. Instant messaging communications do not just disappear when a user logs off--the data is typically stored somewhere within the hard drive or housed within the service provider's log and preserved for an unknown amount of time. For companies dealing with compliance and governmental mandates to protect and store data it's a reminder that IM use is just as vital when it comes to these requirements as email.

For more on IM security and storage:
- check out the Mercury News article