Cybersecurity

Lawyer pleads guilty in connection with cyberattacks on Leagle and RipoffReport

A lawyer in Wichita, Kansas, will have to pay about $430,000 after pleading guilty in connection with a cyberattack on websites that posted negative information about him.

Oct 17, 2019 10:45 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Judge refuses to step down from opioid litigation; BigLaw joins law profs in climate change fight

Judge overseeing nationwide opioid litigation refuses to step down The federal judge overseeing more than 2,000 lawsuits over alleged opioid addictions and overdoses refused to remove himself from a bellwether trial scheduled to begin Oct. 21 in Cleveland. Judge Dan Aaron Polster of the U.S. District Court for the Northern…

Sep 27, 2019 4:30 PM CDT

Three lawyers are among this year’s MacArthur Foundation ‘genius grant’ winners

Lawyers working in the field of criminal justice reform, restorative justice and cyber harassment are among this year’s 26 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” winners. The winners will each receive a no-strings-attached $625,000 stipend, report NPR and the Associated Press. The complete list of winners is here. The lawyer winners are:…

Sep 25, 2019 1:00 PM CDT

How to prepare yourself and your clients to respond to data breaches

Lawyers James M. Davis and Bradley H. Dlatt break down several steps for how law firms can prepare for security breaches and what to do after they strike.

Sep 19, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

Forgoing bug bounties and disclosure policies, legal tech leaves lawyers vulnerable

With the state of anti-hacking law in the U.S. and the insecure nature of online software, bug bounties and vulnerability disclosure policies are front-line, standard practices that should be a part of most any organization’s cybersecurity posture.

Aug 19, 2019 6:30 AM CDT

As federal anti-hacking law turns 35, its meaning, reach and effectiveness are still murky

What had started as a pre-internet computer crime law affecting national security and finance has become a statute that prosecutors, plaintiff attorneys and defense counsels agree isn’t right for its time, and maybe never was. Even with broad agreement on the problem, however, the solution is less clear.

Aug 19, 2019 6:00 AM CDT

Ransomware attack hits this state’s court system; no specific ransom demanded

The effects of a ransomware attack on Georgia’s Administrative Office of the Courts were isolated to servers that provide case management and other applications, according to a spokesman for the office.

Jul 8, 2019 3:55 PM CDT

DLA Piper lawyers in the UK are targeted in email scam

Scammers posed as DLA Piper lawyers in the United Kingdom to trick an entity into making a payment to a fraudulent bank account. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said in a recent press release that the scammers sent emails purporting to be from Alan Cunningham, a partner who leads the law…

Jun 4, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

Virus leads to takedown of city’s court system website and e-filing

Philadelphia’s court system website and e-filing have been shut down since May 21 to safeguard against a virus found on a limited number of computers. Law firms are going old-school, using couriers and paper to file lawsuits and other court documents, the Legal Intelligencer reports. The website takedown has made…

Jun 3, 2019 2:49 PM CDT

2 US law firms lost over $117K to international cybercrime network, indictment alleges

A law firm in Washington, D.C., and a law office in Wellesley, Massachusetts, are among the victims of malware attacks by an overseas cybercrime network.

May 17, 2019 11:13 AM CDT

Between Hacks and Hostilities: Are the US government and private sector ready for persistent engagement?

Cybersecurity is necessarily an issue that crosses international boundaries, raising complex questions of sovereignty, jurisdiction, law and policy. In response, lawyers have struggled to find the right legal metaphor or framework to apply to cyberspace. Each of these issues concerns the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative because the way we as a society choose to address these challenges implicates what it means to live and operate under the rule of law.

May 9, 2019 12:15 PM CDT

ABA Techshow proves lawyers don’t need unlimited budgets to beef up their tech and security

The overall theme of 2019’s iteration of ABA Techshow, which took place from Feb. 27 to March 2 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, was “future-proofing your practice.” In that vein, Sharon Nelson, president of Sensei Enterprises in Fairfax, Virginia, and Jeff Richardson, partner at Adams and Reese in New Orleans, stressed during their panel session that it was important not to get paralyzed by indecisiveness as a result of the abundance of technological options available in the marketplace.

May 1, 2019 1:40 AM CDT

Do court bans on electronic devices impede access to justice?

Courts of all types have banned cellphones in courtrooms. Some inform litigants of the ban before they show up, others don’t. Some offer lockers for storage, others don’t. Courts have cited different reasons for the bans, ranging from preventing disruption in the courtroom to protecting witnesses who could be photographed and potentially threatened for appearing.

Apr 1, 2019 2:00 AM CDT

How to avoid security risks without going broke

During a panel at ABA Techshow 2019 on Thursday, Sherri Davidoff told the audience: “The most effective things in cybersecurity are free.” Davidoff, the CEO of BrightWise and the founder of LMG Security, and David Ries, of counsel at Clark Hill who practices in data protection law and litigation, outlined…

Feb 28, 2019 3:54 PM CST

Building blockchain expertise into a practice that pays

Blockchain's a buzzword, but what does it mean? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, our guests James A. Cox and Mark W. Rasmussen give a breakdown of what blockchain is, the emerging legal issues the technology is prompting, and why Jones Day thinks that it's an important emerging practice area.

Feb 11, 2019 8:10 AM CST