Chris R's List: legal tech

• Frankly, I like the idea of cloud computing and have been using dropbox and evernote to make briefs and research available to me when I’m on the road (just move these files into the dropbox folder and they’re synced to the cloud, then retrievable on my laptop or phone). What I’m still missing is an integrated accounting (general and trust) solution that can use the data generated in Daylite and it use it across different apps.

• Dropbox employees are prohibited from viewing the content of files you store in your Dropbox account, and are only permitted to view file metadata (e.g., file names and locations).
• Like most online services, we have a small number of employees who must be able to access user data for the reasons stated in our privacy policy (e.g., when legally required to do so). But that’s the rare exception, not the rule.

• Dropbox uses modern encryption methods to both transfer and store your data.

   
   
  • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and AES-256 bit encryption
   
  • Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers
   
  • Public files are only viewable by people who have a link to the file(s). Public folders are not browsable or searchable
• • Dropbox employees aren't able to access user files, and when troubleshooting an account they only have access to file metadata (filenames, file sizes, etc., not the file contents)
   
   
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  Dropbox uses Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) for storage, which has a robust security policy of its own. You can find more information on Amazon's data security from the S3 site or, read more about how Dropbox and Amazon securely stores data. 

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• This is actually non-issue, but for the technical ignorance of most of the legal community, which *still* prefer protect their emails with a disclaimer in the signature rather than using public-key encryption.

   

  There are two levels of protection: reasonable and technical.

   

  If you are simply trying to satisfy a court's definition of "reasonable" then zip up your documents with a password before sharing them.

   

  If you are striving for technical protection, that is to say if you have data that must be shared whilst being protected from prying eyes, whether inadvertently or maliciously, encrypt your documents with the highest-quality military-grade encryption allowed in your jurisdiction. Then you shift the burden of protecting your secrets from an outsider to yourself, and you know the job has been done correctly.

• many lawyers are turning to cloud computing. One popular cloud-based storage service that allows law firms and attorneys to back up, sync and even allow client access to documents is Dropbox, a service that likens itself to a secure magic pocket for all of your files.
• Oregon Social Security lawyer Max Rae uses Dropbox as a backup for his firm’s client database and calendaring system
• Dropbox asserts that it offers military-grade encryption methods for both transferring files and storing them.
• Russeth avoids putting extremely sensitive confidential documents in the cloud, he also notes that such documents are few and far between. Russeth views Dropbox as secure —more so, he says, than email.

• GHacks has revealed a security flaw in the DropBox Public folder. There is a potential for files to be accessed by unauthorized parties.

  See http://www.ghacks.net/2011/04/27/why-you-should-check-your-public-dropbox-folders/

  These searches can be manipulated to bring back more precise results by entering keywords.

  Attorneys beware.

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