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Cybersecurity in Commercial Equipment Leases

By Michelle Schaap, Frank Peretore and Robert Hornby
November 02, 2017

Much has been written in the industry about equipment lessors' cybersecurity practices for the protection of their information. The issue addressed herein is the equipment lessor's obligations and potential liability for information stored on equipment returned to the lessor at the end of a lease.

From a leasing company's perspective, the ideal commercial equipment lease places all obligations, risk and liability squarely (and only) in the hands of the lessee. As a general matter, this is accepted industry practice, and lessees understand that this is the “price” of being able to finance equipment. The question is whether this industry practice is enforceable when data and privacy protection enter the picture.

The Leasing Company's Exposure

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