by David Fenster, Esq.
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Changing Tools
It seems that almost every day there is
an article in the news about computer security. Often, the story is about a security
breach. As I read these articles, I cannot
help but think about how computer security has changed the practice of law.1 Stories
about computer security problems are no
longer confined to the technology section
of the news. Most recently, I read that one
company suffered a data breach involving
an estimated forty million credit card accounts. Another security breach exposed
personal information, including credit card
information, and encrypted passwords for
2.9 million customers.2 A police department was the victim of “ransomware” and
had to pay $750 to restore access to their
own data.3 The FTC took action against a
tech support scam involving people being billed for fake tech support to remove
non-existent computer viruses.4 Attorneys
and law firms can be (and may already have
been) the victim of these very same kinds
of attacks.
Once, this topic would have been solely
the domain of dedicated information technology staff. Now, w