Last Updated: 05.04.2020
Data security is important, be sure to hire a lawyer that understands it
We hear it on the news all the time.
Data breach at major credit card company. Government entity loses social security numbers. Offices & homes get physically burglarized. That’s why we take data security incredibly seriously.
ENlawyers recently received an interesting email from Spider Oak which we have shared below. Spider Oak is our secure backup data provider. The email shows how important data security is and demonstrates why people should pay greater attention to where they store their data in “the cloud.” Our Maryland Lawyer recommendation is that clients use Spider Oak for their sensitive data, along with and dropbox, iCloud or some other service for non-sensitive data.
Here’s the email, and don’t worry, Big Brother is watching:
“Judging by the popularity of criminal investigation and justice TV shows, it’s safe to say our society loves courtroom drama. In real life, although rare, we do receive requests from a law enforcement agency asking us to supply the details about a user. We publish the number of times this happens along with more information in our transparency report. Most of the time, the request isn’t even accompanied by a subpoena. Unfortunately for privacy, it’s not uncommon for companies to immediately give law enforcement whatever they are requesting without making them go through due process. At SpiderOak however, when we get a request like this, we always tell them we only give user data in response to a subpoena from a court with proper jurisdiction. We also inform them of our Zero-Knowledge Privacy Policy which means our users’ data is encrypted such that we can’t decrypt it. Furthermore, unless they have the user’s encryption password, they won’t be able to either. To date, this has always concluded the inquiry. In the event we need to comply with a subpoena we would notify the user prior to disclosure unless prohibited from doing so by statute or court order. To make this step more official we recently added this clause to our privacy policy. While the inside of a courtroom looks exciting on a late-night episode of Law & Order, we have yet to make any appearances.”
It is prudent for all citizens, private and public, to reasonably and responsibly review the manner in which you store your personal data. The internet is a largely undefined game that many of the players do not fully comprehend the rules by which it is played. People entrust all forms of data, both the seemingly meaningless and the inherently important, to the means of the internet in ways that have the potential to land them in hot water. More often than not people manage to squeak through avoiding serious problems. However, the risk is certainly not worth the reward. Safety should always come first on the internet.
As a Maryland lawyer, I take data security very seriously. If you come to our office, you won’t see files physically strewn about with sensitive information open to the public. Nor will you find an abundance in the way of locked filing cabinets. Instead, our data is stored, password protected, and encrypted both locally and in the “cloud” on Spider Oak, the most secure way data can be stored. We hope that our approach to treating files as Maryland Lawyers helps convey the level of importance with which we feel about your case. At ENLawyers, our clients’ best interest always comes first.