Lawyers Weekly article the latest in Chicken Little
Law firms ought to be scared to death of the dangers presented by employees using social network sites and personal blogs. So says Kevin Lo, an e-discovery expert, in an article in LexisNexis' Lawyers Weekly.
Lo raises a couple salient points, but by and large his sensationalist headlines about the dangers of blogs and the like is an attempt to create a widely read story about a perceived sexy topic.
What does Lo tell readers?
- Leads off with a pornography company hacking FaceBook to steal identities.
- FaceBook is a virtual cornucopia of personal information about more than eight million Canadians that must make fraudsters and corporate spies drool with delight.
- Hackers and spies use personal and corporate information, obtained by various methods of subterfuge, to infiltrate a company. Once inside, they can do untold damage, including stealing corporate secrets, sabotaging (and possibly holding for ransom) the company's information technology network, or perpetrating numerous types of fraudulent activities.
And by the way, Lo reports that during a 16-month period there's only been 88 personal records reported stolen from corporations in the U.S. That's probably less than the number of legal files accidently left at court houses and airports.
Lo advises (with my commentary), among other things:
- Creating a social media policy for use outside the office. (maybe law firms should monitor home computer use?)
- Prohibit using the company name in personal profiles and electronic correspondence. (that should put an end to all networking)
- Encourage employees to be careful about what information they post and who they accept as 'friends.' (Hope Mom told us that)
- Ban web2.0 applications in the office if you work with sensitive information. (Hate to have anyone use Google maps, a web based newsreader, and LinkedIn)
- Conduct regular internal audits to see where the company name comes up on the worldwide web. (God forbid the firm's name gets found at Google, LinkedIn, and FaceBook)
After 1000 words telling us the sky is falling and that we must be prepared Lo concedes social network sites 'can also be helpful.' Four words on the plusses of blogs and social networks after scaring the heck out of law firms.
Law firms ought to be more afraid of listening to fear mongers and failing to adapt to the latest technology being used safely and effectively to enhance lawyers' reputations and grow businesses.
The legal profession is notorious for lagging behind other industries in its effective use of technology. As lawyers we're charged with advising against risks at all costs. When evaluating new technology that we do not understand and that may involve slight risks, we'll seize the status quo.
Admittedly there are some flaky social networking sites out there and Lo has a job to do in law firm security, but the Internet and blogs offer lawyers opportunities we've never had before. Rather than spreading fear, we should learn, experiment, and adopt that which works for us. There's a lot of upside that outweighs the risks.
