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Fans lined up to gain access to Toronto’s Jurassic Park days before last night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals. A select few were rewarded with surprise tickets to the game. For most, Jurassic Park was as close as they would get to watching the game live. Only 3,000 tickets were made available to the public.
What some do not know is that behind the scenes of high demand ticket sales, online ticket retailers are at war with the machine; technological scalpers that is. While fans are desperately trying to purchase a prized ticket online, they are also competing with scalpers who use rapid ticket buying “bot” software or similar technology to buy valuable tickets in bulk. It hardly seems fair… Thankfully, in the world of e-Discovery, we are not against the machine but rather use it to our advantage to make reviews more efficient and accurate. We are constantly applying the most advanced technology to our practice, which has become critical to our success. No one will disagree that our clients appreciate their review time being cut in half or more due to technology and as a result, receiving substantial savings, sometimes in the millions of dollars. However, technology is only half of the equation. Our lawyers are also needed to apply analysis and to “train” our technology. We recognize that technology is critical to gaining a competitive advantage but we also understand that both technology and lawyers are needed to remain viable in today’s marketplace. On May 7, 2019, The City of Baltimore's government servers were attacked by ransomware, locking down computers, blocking government email accounts, disabling online payments to city departments and demanding $100,000 worth of Bitcoin. Weeks later, some services still remain down. Cyberattacks have significant, sometimes devastating consequences. In addition to paying ransom, there are considerable costs (including reputational harm) to investigate what data was accessed, evaluating whether there was any access to personal information, whether the authorities (or individuals) should be notified, usually requiring weeks or months of cleanup.
With all of the information at our fingertips in the digital age, our decisions should be data-driven. Decisions about our future, our finances, our family. Decisions about our business, our investments, our beliefs. What if someone knew how to access and utilize your information better than you? What if they took your information hostage? What would you do to get it back? Short answer: Anything and everything. As we know from the news, information in the wrong hands can be used by hackers for financial gain or even to sway an election. So how do you as an individual or an owner or employee of a business protect your data? By engaging with experts early and establishing a successful information governance strategy, you can take control of your data and reduce risk. Failing to follow best practices for good information governance puts you at risk for security and privacy breaches. Examples of these risks are cybercrime and fraud risks associated with poor information governance and detection mechanisms. A comprehensive information governance program can deliberately and effectively manage your information. The best protection we can, and should have to protect against these threats, is to establish sound information governance practices. It is important for organizations to develop information governance strategies as new digital transformations re-shape our lives by automating activities, and by creating new possibilities to rethink and optimize what we do. IG strategies allow us to know where our data is stored, who should access it, and how long we need to retain it. The better equipped we are to manage the lifecycle of our data, the more prepared we will be when navigating a world that is changing rapidly. MT>3 can assist in the development of your IG strategy.  On April 3, 2019, Susan Wortzman hosted a panel discussion on data and privacy risk management and cybersecurity. The panel included experts from the public and private sector. Members of cybersecurity incident response teams, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, and information governance experts talked about how organizations can successfully manage the data and privacy issues confronting their businesses.
Kevin Lo from Froese Forensic shared interesting statistics: 42% of small to medium sized businesses fell victim to ransomware in the last 12 months; 35% of them paid the ransom, and 1 in 5 of them were not able to recover their data; even after the demands of the cyber criminals were met. A common theme among the panel was the importance of hiring experienced counsel as soon as a cybersecurity incident occurs to mitigate the legal risk. The panel also emphasized that “regardless of the type of cyber attack, planning and practicing are the top preventative measures organizations can take”. Organizations know that protecting its data is a top priority; however, walls can and will be breached. When this occurs, having an information governance and cybersecurity response plan in place will minimize the damage and help address the demand from the public for disclosure and remediation. It may even keep you out of the headlines. |
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