What is E-Discovery?
June 30, 2005
Ernie The Attorney has a very interesting and informative write-up on what all the hubbub is regarding e-discovery. If you’re not sure what e-discovery really is, and why it might be a “hot topic” these days, you should definitely read this article.
LegalTech
June 27, 2005
Ernie The Attorney reports on his experiences at the LegalTech conference in Los Angeles. He has some interesting observations:
It’s too bad that more lawyers don’t attend conferences like this one: there were several great programs that required no special tech-awareness. In fact, the session about ‘Coping with E-Mail Overload’ was one of the most useful programs I’ve seen recently. Obviously, you don’t have to be a techie to understand that E-Mail is something that needs to be carefully managed.
Some of the other things he talks about are E-Discovery, software training (a touchy subject for many law firms, as we ourselves have seen), and the e-mail problem (too many e-mails, too little time).
All in all, it’s a very worthwhile read.
Fourth Amendment Puzzle
June 14, 2005
As a computer professional, I’m often very interested in these sort of legal questions, as they relate to technology. Here’s a bit of a quote from this article over at The Volokh Conspiracy:
Here’s the problem. Imagine that the police believe that there is evidence of crime on a suspect’s computer, but they lack probable cause to obtain a warrant to search it. The police ask the suspect if he will consent to allow the police to search the computer for evidence. The suspect agrees, and gives the police his computer to be searched. A few days later, the suspect talks to an attorney and the attorney advises the suspect to revoke his consent and demand the return of the property. The lawyer (or the suspect) calls the police and withdraws consent to search the computer.
[...]
But here’s the twist. It turns out that the first step a computer forensic analyst takes when seeking to retrieve evidence from a hard drive is to create a “bitstream copy” or “image” of the computer hard drive. The “image” is an exact copy of the hard drive that copies every one and zero on the drive. It is created for reasons of evidentiary integrity; searching a computer drive can alter the data it contains, so analysts copy the original and do all of the analysis on the image copy. After the drive has been imaged, there are two copies of the data, not one: one copy of data on the defendant’s property and another copy on the government’s machine.
Now, back to our hypothetical. It turns out that a suspect often withdraws his consent after the computer has been imaged, but before government has begun to search the image. (This is common because imaging can be done in a few hours, but most government forensic labs have long waiting lists for the actual analysis.) So here’s the big question: When the suspect withdraws his consent, does the withdrawal of consent also apply to the image? Can the police search the imaged copy, or will searching the imaged copy without a warrant violate the Fourth Amendment? In doctrinal terms, does a defendant retain a legitimate expectation of privacy in the image, and if so, does his common authority to regulate consent to search the original apply equally or differently to the copy?
My opinion on the matter (given my understanding of the law) is that the image made of the drive could be retained by the police – after all, you would hardly expect the police to give back a picture they took of a suspect if that suspect was later released. That’s my gut feeling on the matter, anyway.
If you disagree, or if you just have additional thoughts – please feel free to comment!
Unauthorized Computer Access; legally speaking
June 14, 2005
This article (which I found thanks to a link over at Bruce Schneier’s blog) is quite interesting. What exactly is “unauthorized” access, as far as computers are concerned?
If the answer seems clear-cut to you, you may want to read this article to see how the issue quickly becomes murky. As is often the case, old legal precedents don’t quite work when applied to new technology.
For more info on this subject, and some “historical” cases in the same sort of vein, see:
Remarks on Oregon vs. Schwartz
Computer or Crime? State of Oregon v. Randal Schwartz
10 Ways to spot Fake Emails
June 14, 2005
PayPal has this page to help you identify “fake” emails that are actually trying to trick you into giving away personal information. I highly recommend reading it – so much so, that I’m including some of their tips right here:
- Generic greetings. Many spoof emails begin with a general greeting, such as: “Dear PayPal member.” If you do not see your first and last name, be suspicious and do not click on any links or button.
- A fake sender’s address. A spoof email may include a forged email address in the “From” field. This field is easily altered.
- A false sense of urgency. Many spoof emails try to deceive you with the threat that your account is in jeopardy if you don’t update it ASAP. They may also state that an unauthorized transaction has recently occurred on your account, or claim PayPal is updating its accounts and needs information fast.
- Fake links. Always check where a link is going before you click. Move your mouse over it and look at the URL in your browser or email status bar. A fraudulent link is dangerous. If you click on one, it could:
- Direct you to a spoof website that tries to collect your personal data.
- Install spyware on your system. Spyware is an application that can enable a hacker to monitor your actions and steal any passwords or credit card numbers you type online.
- Cause you to download a virus that could disable your computer.
- Emails that appear to be websites. Some emails will look like a website in order to get you to enter personal information. PayPal never asks for personal information in an email.
- Deceptive URLs. Only enter your PayPal password on PayPal pages. These begin with https://www.paypal.com/
- If you see an @ sign in the middle of a URL, there’s a good chance this is a spoof. Legitimate companies use a domain name (e.g. https://www.company.com).
- Even if a URL contains the word “PayPal,” it may not be a PayPal site. Examples of deceptive URLs include: www.paypalsecure.com, www.paypa1.com, www.secure-paypal.com, and www.paypalnet.com.
- Always log in to PayPal by opening a new web browser and typing in the following: https://www.paypal.com/
- Never log in to PayPal from a link in an email
- Misspellings and bad grammar. Spoof emails often contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, missing words, and gaps in logic. Mistakes also help fraudsters avoid spam filters.
- Unsafe sites. The term “https” should always precede any website address where you enter personal information. The “s” stands for secure. If you don’t see “https,” you’re not in a secure web session, and you should not enter data.
- Pop-up boxes. PayPal will never use a pop-up box in an email as pop-ups are not secure.
- Attachments. Like fake links, attachments are frequently used in spoof emails and are dangerous. Never click on an attachment. It could cause you to download spyware or a virus. PayPal will never email you an attachment or a software update to install on your computer.
Many of these tips also apply to “fake” emails that may appear to come from us – so don’t be fooled!
Another Law Blog
June 9, 2005
Just added 2 new law blogs to our links list over on the left. Both are from Massachusetts, so be sure to check them out!
Sentencing Law and Policy
Media Law
Productivity with Technology
June 8, 2005
Productivity with Technology: Figuring out what’s possible is the hard part
Of course, we run into similar situations all the time. TurboLaw has a lot of features that many people never use – because they don’t know it’s there. So if this article has inspired you to find the “hidden” treasures in TurboLaw, may I recommend perusing the User’s Manual?
U.S. Medical Privacy Law Gutted
June 7, 2005
Bruce Shneier had this to say today in regards to changes in the way HIPAA rules are being applied.
I imagine that many of our customers will be interested in what he has to say.
Strange book recommendation for lawyers
June 7, 2005
This interesting article comes from Ernie the Attorney.
One-Click Registration
June 6, 2005
If you are connected to the Internet and need to register TurboLaw, you can now do it with one click. When prompted, just click the “Register Online” button – and that’s it! You’ll receive a message that says “Thank you for registering TurboLaw.”
Previously, users had to click “Register Online” and then click “OK” to register. Since every click counts when you are trying to save time, TurboLaw introduced this new one-click registration process.
To be eligable for on-line registration, your phone number must be on file with us, and it must match the phone number you entered into TurboLaw.
Note that if you are re-installing TurboLaw on a new computer (or the same computer after a computer crash), you may not be able to register online. In this case, you must call to register.
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