An attorney's duty is to safeguard client information from unlawful and wrongful distribution, including hackers and online criminals. If a claim should arise due to a hacker stealing digital confidential information, it could be treated as a claim for malpractice.
Lawyers have always had possession of clients’ personally identifiable information and trade secrets, but the means of potential loss have changed with technology. Criminals no longer need to be physically present in an attorney’s office to take or destroy sensitive information.
We spell out 7 best practices that can help attorneys reduce the likelihood of losing confidential data to digital criminals by tightening up their physical and digital security landscapes while enhancing compliance with state and federal data-privacy requirements.