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Franchise Companies vs. Hackers: Twenty Questions on Cybercrime
The 21st century is clearly the age of cybercrime, and franchise companies should be especially concerned because, simplistically, there are only two types of computer systems: those that have been hacked, and those that will be hacked. Franchise companies are uniquely vulnerable in two areas because they possess massive collections of personally identifiable information (“PII”), and they have substantial asset bases of intangible property. Both the PII and the intangible assets can be easily copied without leaving the premises. Any transaction involving a card with a magnetic strip involves risk, and any franchise company's computer system designed to allow access to multiple users (such as franchisees, vendors, suppliers, etc.) poses an enormous risk of being penetrated. All companies using e-mail or the Internet are vulnerable; firewalls offer no protection once a hacker has infiltrated.
And things are going to get worse. Speaking to the BBC for a report on technology, Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, an IT security firm based in Helsinki, Finland, said last year, “Crime tends to rise when you have more unemployment. If you look, in general, where the attacks are coming from you can find social reasons behind them.” Experts at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, called for a new system to tackle well-organized gangs of cybercriminals, and they claimed that online theft costs $1 trillion a year, that the number of attacks is rising sharply, and that too many people do not know how to protect themselves.
Even if you can protect your system from outsiders, a franchise company can still be easily betrayed from within. “The damage that insiders can do should not be underestimated. It can take just a few minutes for an entire database that has taken years to build to be copied to a CD or USB stick,” said Adam Bosnian, a spokesman for Newton, MA-based Cyber-Ark, a developer of “digital vaults” for securing electronic information.
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.