Confidentiality in a Wired World
by David • December 9, 2011 • Android, BlackBerry, Business, Canada, E-mail, Featured, iPhone, Macintosh, Mid Size Firm, Practice Management, Security, Small Law Firm, Solo, Storage, Technology, U.S., United Kingdom, Windows, Wireless • 0 Comments
Lawyers struggle with technology and managing their clients’s confidential information in a professional manner. Meeting the standards set by ethics bodies in North America – which tend to require both competent representation and reasonable safeguards to protect information – doesn’t stop the regular occurrence of inadvertent disclosure. This presentation was prepared for a one-hour session for lawyers newly arrived in Canada who are joining the presentation here. I’ve given this presentation before (here, here, and here), but always update the slide deck. In part, this is possible because lawyers continually lose client information. November 2011 was a banner month, unfortunately.
I have shifted away from discussing specific technologies directly, but refer to them in a handout for the session. Here are the ones I mentioned this time around:
Privacy
PIPEDA and Your Practice: A Privacy Handbook for Lawyers
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Communications
ABA Formal Opinion 11-459: Duty to Protect the Confidentiality of E-mail Communications with One’s Client
Microsoft Word metadata
- Word 2007: built-in. Select the Office button, choose Prepare, then select Inspect.
- Word 2003: free download: http://bit.ly/remove-hidden-data
Passwords
How to Avoid the Most Common and Dangerous Passwords, Zonealarm Top 20 Passwords Infographic
Encryption
Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterprise Bitlocker
(certain versions of Windows Vista also support Bitlocker)
Windows 7 Professional / Ultimate / Enterprise Encrypted File System (EFS)
Macintosh OS X Lion FileVault 2
(older versions of the OS use different version of FileVault)
Truecrypt.org (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Mcafee.com encryption and security software
Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security
Checkpoint endpoint encryption
Symantec whole disk encryption
Most of these software developers (Mcafee, Trend Micro, Checkpoint, etc.) also sell anti-virus and anti-malware software. If you use Windows, try the free Microsoft Windows Defender (XP, Vista, and Windows 7)
Other free alternatives include AVG and Avast. ClamAV works on both Windows (Immunet) and Mac (http://www.clamxav.com)
Mobile Apps
- LookOut Mobile Security (iPhone, Android)
- Blackberry App World
- Apple iTunes (Utilities)
- Android Market (Tools)
Electronic Frontier Foundation HTTPS Everywhere (Firefox Plug-in)
Kensington Locking Cables for Laptops, Desktops
[Check your local office supply store]
Prey (Device Recovery) (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS)
Apple iCloud (formerly MobileMe) Remote Lock / Wipe
