Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Can Electronic Information Be Kept Secret?

By Stanley P. Jaskiewicz
April 28, 2005

The term electronic secret isn't an oxymoron, but lately, it does seem that storing data digitally is incompatible with keeping that data confidential.

High-tech firms like ChoicePoint and Lexis/Nexis, along with respected icons Bank of America and the University of California at Berkeley ' and maybe more visibly, online broker Ameritrade ' know this apparent conundrum well. These institutions recently disclosed significant confidentiality breaches. These lapses, combined with the total volume of releases of personal data, have certainly shaken public trust in the ability of any firm or institution to maintain the privacy of personal information that is stored electronically. And who can blame the public for its loss of confidence? After all, confidential information should be kept, well, confidential.

Security Can Be A Two-Edged Sword

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

Legal Possession: What Does It Mean? Image

Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?