Data Security and the Legal Profession: Risks, Unique Challenges and Practical Considerations

摘要

Data security is the area of information security that deals with the protection of digital assets. It is an increasingly prominent and important area of risk for the global legal profession. This is due to the speed with which technology has developed, and is continuing to develop. The explosion of electronic communications and electronic storage and indexing of information, and new and easier ways to access that information, has ushered in a new suite of data security issues. Compared to other businesses, law firms are perceived to have particular data security vulnerabilities. In-house counsel are also considered to be critically lacking in data security expertise. Lawyers in all jurisdictions and practice settings need greater engagement with the issue of data security to protect the interests of their clients, their firm and the general public, and to discharge their professional ethical obligations.