An important string to the Hayman Lawyers bow is our practical expertise in privacy law.
Our senior associate, Katrine Evans, was a speaker at the Law Society’s commercial law conference earlier in the year, as the privacy specialist on a cybersecurity panel with Graeme Nielson (Red Shield) and Michael Wigley (Wigley & Co).
Here are some of the tips that the panellists had for businesses:
- Expect to be hacked. Incidents are on the increase. Being at the bottom of the world doesn’t make a difference. Automated hacking tools that search for vulnerabilities don’t know or care where you are. So have a plan for when things go wrong, because they probably will.
- At least take basic steps to protect your information systems. For instance keep things separate – so if someone compromises your website, it won’t open the door to your client files.
- It’s not all about hacking, and it’s not all about IT. Most privacy breaches happen because someone in your business does something by accident. Again, have a plan for when mistakes happen. Give your staff relevant on-the-job training and make sure you take steps to reduce the risks of mistakes. Human errors are inevitable, but some are more inevitable than others…
- If you’re in the business of handling personal information for clients (for instance IT, HR or remote data processing services), there’ll be increasing pressure to prove that your privacy and security processes are absolutely up to scratch. Contracts are getting more demanding. Are you confident you can comply? And can you afford mistakes?
- Directors need to get good and regular information about security and privacy in their companies. Like health and safety, it’s time to take steps to make sure you’re managing risks properly.
As with everything we do, Hayman Lawyers can give you practical privacy advice that works. Whether you need a quick health check on how you handle client information, a simple plan for handling privacy breaches, in-house training, or advice about how to fix something that’s gone wrong, just give us a call.
