E-Burglary – Protecting Your Computer Data While Avoiding Lawsuits

In the not-too-distant past industrial espionage consisted of photocopying and carting out files. Identity theft, a rare crime until recent years, happened when someone’s wallet was stolen by a pickpocket. The computer and the Internet have dramatically changed the playing field. Now, customer lists, marketing plans and financial information can be passed to the competition with a simple click of the mouse, and a high school hacker can break into computers that store a wealth of personal information.

Volume 4 | No. 2
Nathaniel H. Akerman

DORSEY & WHITNEY LLP

Two laws, one that took effect just last year and the other just being discovered as a deterrent to computer theft, when taken together, not only require organizations to be responsible custodians of personal data stored in their computers, but also make the theft of data from a computer a federal crime that can be vindicated through a civil lawsuit. In response to these two laws, companies need to take a number of prudent measures.

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