In the April 2013 article, Law Firms: Cyber Target #1, Julius Meltzner writes about how and why lawyers are increasingly the focus of cyber-thieves:

“…lawyers don’t like taking instructions from anybody, particularly their less well paid underlings who are responsible for network security. They’re impatient. In some firms the rainmakers have nixed even simple steps, like requiring a password on mobile devices that connect with the firm’s servers. They couldn’t be bothered. Privileged with secrets, lawyers are the perfect targets.”

A few essential steps are recommended to get started on better protecting data in law firm settings:

1. Systematically, take advantage of Microsoft’s monthly release of security patches.
   
2. Do not give administrator privileges to those who don’t require it.
   
3. Properly manage and update anti-virus software and firewalls.
   
4. Use strong passwords that contain numbers, letters and punctuation.
   

Another take on the critical issue of information security in law firms was most recently provided here in Data Security for Law Firms (November 2012.) 

The Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association provides loss prevention information solely for the benefit of CLIA insured lawyers. The content and links provided in Loss Prevention eBytes are intended as resources to qualified lawyers who should exercise due care and their professional judgment in adapting or making use of any content.

The view of Canadian courts as to the relevance of Facebook photos in personal injury cases may be shifting. The recent decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court in Dakin v. Roth, 2013 BCSC 8 (CanLII) is discussed in the blog post,

Turn in the tide on Facebook photos as evidence?(January 13, 2013 on All About Information).  In that decision the court stated that:

[55]        The defendants have entered into evidence photos posted on the plaintiff’s Facebook between 2007 and 2009, which the defendants say are inconsistent with her physical limitations.

[56]        I do not place much weight on those photographs. They are staged, at a party, and taken on holidays. As stated by Mr. Justice Goepel in Guthrie v. Narayan, 2012 BCSC 734 (CanLII), (at para. 30) in respect to Facebook photos:  “Those pictures are of limited usefulness. [The plaintiff] is seeking compensation for what she has lost, not what she can still do.” I agree.

The bloggers suggest that this finding may represent a turn in the tide of the law’s development since the 2009 decision in Leduc v. Roman, as previously discussed here in Lawyers Obliged to Advise Clients that Facebook Profile May Be Discoverable.

The Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association provides loss prevention information solely for the benefit of CLIA insured lawyers. The content and links provided in Loss Prevention eBytes are intended as resources to qualified lawyers who should exercise due care and their professional judgment in adapting or making use of any content.