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Litigation

Data Privacy

Overview

According to statistics provided by the Data Breach Level Index, hackers and thieves are stealing more than 227,000 personal records per hour as of 2017, generally targeting customer information for purposes of identity theft. Furthermore, more than half of all enterprises will suffer at least some kind of data breach in any given year.

The damages - in terms of reputation, lost customers, and costs of investigation and remediation - typically run between $50,000 and $170,000 per 1,000 records, based on surveys done by respected companies such as Verizon and Kroll; and those costs do not include potentially significant fines, penalties, and judgments incurred on account of liability to third-parties.

The potential for a breach or inadvertent release of data exists every time personally identifiable information is gathered, regardless of the size or financial health of your business. Collecting, storing and using data effectively while protecting the privacy of individuals is a critical challenge facing all businesses.

If you can’t answer “yes” to the following questions, then you are not using “best practices” for information security protocols, and should consider seeking help, which we can provide:

  1. Does your company have a Written Information Security Program?
  2. Has your company appointed a Security Officer?
  3. Does your company require that all email containing personal private information be encrypted, and that all portable devices (laptops, phones, thumb drives, etc.) be encrypted while in use and while at rest?
  4. If your vendors have access to private personal information that you collect and store, do you have protections in place to reduce or eliminate exposures from unauthorized access to that information by a third party?

Our team of lawyers knows how to help clients defend against, prosecute and respond to data privacy breaches. In recent years, interviewees of Chambers USA have described our litigators as "a strong group with extensive trial skills" which is "dedicated to client service,” and one which has a “deep bench in its Boston office.”