This column is not strictly about information security, although IS has a role to play. Rather, it is covers a topic that should be of significant interest to the people normally concerned with IS – information technology, compliance, and especially the CFO and the CFO.
First, a disclaimer. The writer is not an attorney and is not qualified nor is attempting to give legal advice.
So what is the issue here? Simply it is the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which were revised in December 2006. In essence they require three things:
- Plaintiff’s lawyers can request any / all information you have in electronic form that may relate to the case.
- You could suffer significant financial losses if you can’t produce the requested items.
- Once you are notified of the pending lawsuit, you must retain information that could relevant to the case and can suffer dire consequences if the information is destroyed. after you are notified of the pending suit. Further, you may be required not only to produce the documents but also to prove that they haven’t been altered.
So how has industry responded so far?
Popularity: 1%
