Cybersecurity attorneys play a critical role in helping protect their clients from the damages associated with data breaches. But as an attorney who specializes in cybersecurity law, you can’t necessarily stay abreast of both developments in the laws your clients must comply with and developments in the technology they’re using. A cyber forensics consultant can help.
What is Cyber Forensics?
Cyber forensics experts can collect and preserve evidence from your clients’ networks, applications, or devices that you can use to defend them against litigation if their technological systems are compromised.
But the value of working with a cyber forensics expert goes beyond information risk management, identifying security gaps and weaknesses or penetration points. When you partner with a consultant who offers cyber forensics services and tools, the information they uncover belongs to you, meaning the attorney-client privilege protects it.
Why Do You Need a Cyber Forensics Team?
Communications and data-handling technology are developing faster today than ever before. And companies around the world have faced hefty lawsuits for failing to adequately protect their customers’ data.
Your clients’ business leaders understand the need to perform risk assessments and penetration testing as part of their information security program development. The trouble starts with the exchange of information. Developing an information security strategy necessitates communication between different people and departments in your clients’ organizations on various cybersecurity-related topics.
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Threats and Vulnerabilities
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Potential Impact
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Acceptable Levels of Risk
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Mitigation Steps
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Incident Response Plans
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Disaster Recovery Strategy
New information on their preparedness is generated as they:
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Perform risk assessments
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Identify threats or vulnerabilities
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Work to mitigate risk
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Respond to breaches or attacks
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Remediate systems after a cybersecurity incident
As counsel, you may have to respond to and mitigate situations that arise if their systems are compromised. And you know that your clients’ internal communications about potential vulnerabilities in their systems can expose them to greater danger in breach litigation. Policies developed by IT or security personnel with no legal training can further increase their risk.
Without information security program development and cybersecurity training for employees, your clients won’t be able to protect their systems from being compromised. Yet they could expose themselves legally in developing security policies and communicating them to staff.
So how do you protect them?
Cyber Forensics Experts Can Help
To ensure that your client’s efforts to improve information security are helping (rather than harming), you can partner with a cyber forensics consultant. An expert can identify information security threats, vulnerabilities, and risks, while you guide your clients through the legal ramifications of those discoveries.
For a client to preserve attorney-client privilege in the context of cybersecurity assessments and compliance, the ideal engagement involves the client retaining counsel to provide cybersecurity compliance guidance. You can retain a cyber forensics expert to provide technical expertise as an attorney.
A cyber forensics consultant can help you protect your clients by:
Identifying Potential Issues
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Identifying strengths and weaknesses in design and implementation
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Ensuring an information security program is compliant with all legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements
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Providing cybersecurity assessment and auditing services
Providing a Legal Perspective on Operations
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Developing and driving the implementation of a comprehensive roadmap of key initiatives to close gaps, correct weaknesses, and build on existing program strengths
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Leading the development of cybersecurity policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines to ensure they protect against litigation
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Establishing or improving vulnerability management programs, including regular assessment, testing, and remediation activities
Guiding Information Security Leaders
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Ensuring adequate governance of cybersecurity measures
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Overseeing incident response planning and breach investigation activities with an eye towards potential legal ramifications
The Consulting Services You Need
Involving legal counsel in all essential aspects of cybersecurity risk assessment and breach response is critical for the potential protection of your clients under the doctrine of attorney-client privilege. There are obvious benefits in a post-breach, incident response scenario, but there is also a strong case to be made for establishing these legal privileges before any incident.
At AISN, we maintain a staff of highly skilled and vetted cyber forensics experts who can assess a client’s cybersecurity program and security maturity. We’ll work with you to help them design, implement, and maintain a roadmap of specific initiatives to preserve a reasonable and acceptable level of risk. Want to know more? Contact us today.