Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

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

Data Encryption And the Law

By Richard Raysman and Peter Brown
November 02, 2013

Essentially, cryptography involves the conversion of information into unintelligible text for subsequent transmission past unintended third parties (encryption), with the intended recipient then converting the text back into intelligible form (decryption). For the purposes of this article, data encryption will be the term utilized to describe the entire process.

In the online age, data encryption is favored as a means of transmitting confidential information across public spaces, whether literal or virtual, without a concomitant disclosure of the contents of the confidential information to unintended recipients. Unsurprisingly, a substantial transmission of encrypted data travels through virtual portals like the Internet. Though data encryption was once largely limited to the dissemination of military and government information, it is now employed for a myriad of reasons applicable to the average user, including for basic activities such as Web browsing and online transactions.

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.