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When Your Data Goes Viral: Insurance for Data Breaches
Data breaches are part of the technological age. Indeed, 2013 was dubbed the year of the “mega breach,” and in 2014, as of October, there had been 621 publicly reported data breaches, exposing 77,890,487 records. See, Identity Theft Resource Center, 2014 Data Breach Category Summary (Oct. 21, 2014). In early October 2014, JPMorgan Chase reported a data breach affecting as many as 76 million households and 7 million small businesses, making it one of the largest data breaches ever reported.
A data breach typically involves the unauthorized release or access of personal or confidential information. Personal information includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers, financial information, or health information. In addition to personal information, a data breach can also jeopardize a company's confidential information such as client records, trade secrets, privileged legal information, or employee records. Although many associate data breaches with hackers or cyberattacks, human error, such as a mistake in computer coding or losing a company laptop, also have resulted in significant breaches. A 2014 study concluded that 44% of data breaches were from malicious or criminal attacks against an organization, but 31% resulted from employee negligence and 25% resulted from system glitches.
The losses associated with data breaches are significant. The total average cost from breaches in 2014 was $5.9 million, with each lost or stolen record estimated to cost an organization $201. See, Ponemon Inst., LLC, 2014 Cost of Data Breach Study: United States 17 (2014). In addition to lost profits, companies involved in a breach face reputational harm and may face physical damage to their technology systems, software, or hardware. They also incur the cost of remediating the harm to individuals or organizations whose information was disclosed, providing them with notice of the breach, a call center for information, credit monitoring, and identity fraud recovery services. Victims of a data breach also may incur costs retaining specialized breach response firms to help identify and repair the cause of the breach, and public relations agencies to restore their image. Additionally, they may face the costs associated with lawsuits over the breach, and administrative actions against them.
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.