Losing data from a breach is costly for organizations, and a primary portion of these costs is cybersecurity litigation. Whether it’s a class action lawsuit or litigation from residual effects after users lose their data to identity thieves, litigation is expensive and can last for years after the initial breach. Cybersecurity litigation usually follows a severe data breach when victims of identity theft or future financial loss are your organization’s customers who seek compensation for the event.
What Is Cyber Litigation
Most people think that litigation means going to court and fighting lawsuits before a judge. Many disputes are settled outside of the courtroom before a judge determines the outcome. Usually, settlements outside of court are the best option for both the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s), but some lawsuits require in-court appearances before they can be settled.
Most people think that litigation means going to court and fighting lawsuits before a judge. Many disputes are settled outside of the courtroom before a judge determines the outcome. Usually, settlements outside of court are the best option for both the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s), but some lawsuits require in-court appearances before they can be settled.
Investigations and Demands
A lawsuit starts when a client brings a dispute or claims before their attorney, which can be anything from unpaid rent to business partner disagreements. The attorney (or team of attorneys) decides if the dispute would be monetarily successful and a potential win. Although the adage that “you can sue for anything” might be true, an attorney often avoids frivolous litigation.
A lawsuit starts when a client brings a dispute or claims before their attorney, which can be anything from unpaid rent to business partner disagreements. The attorney (or team of attorneys) decides if the dispute would be monetarily successful and a potential win. Although the adage that “you can sue for anything” might be true, an attorney often avoids frivolous litigation.
What Is Cybersecurity Litigation
Each area of the law targets a specific issue, and attorneys specializing in cyber-crimes usually deal with litigation involving cybersecurity incidents. Attackers can be insider threats or cyber-criminals outside the organization. Numerous threats could bring organizations to a critical point in business continuity where any mistake could be costly. When an attack damages an organization’s brand or revenue, cybersecurity litigation can help recover some or all of the costs.
Cybersecurity litigation is carried out in much the same way as standard litigation explained above. The only difference is that it focuses primarily on crimes involving systems, the internet, and data. It requires experts to investigate attacks and their origination. Forensics are also necessary in many cybersecurity cases to determine the extent of the damage and if the network is still vulnerable to attacks, such as advanced persistent threats or those with undetected backdoors.
Why Is It Needed
The consequences of a successful cyber-attack can be numerous. Organizations that suffer from large data breaches deal with brand damage, revenue loss, compliance violation costs, attorney fees, investigations, law enforcement issues, and other irreparable damage that harms business continuity.
State-sponsored attacks and those from corporate espionage can be just as expensive. For example, an employee violating a non-compete that discloses trade secrets to a competitor could permanently damage future earnings and business growth. State-sponsored hackers interfering with the performance and uptime of critical systems could cost millions in lost revenue. Cybersecurity litigation may be necessary to recover losses from these issues and many more.
After an incident response, forensics, and investigations into the attack, most companies work with experts to determine what can be improved to avoid repeat victimization. Strategies into “lessons learned” are also costly because it often requires additional infrastructure and measures to remediate a common issue that the organization was unaware of previously.
The consequences of a successful cyber-attack can be numerous. Organizations that suffer from large data breaches deal with brand damage, revenue loss, compliance violation costs, attorney fees, investigations, law enforcement issues, and other irreparable damage that harms business continuity.
State-sponsored attacks and those from corporate espionage can be just as expensive. For example, an employee violating a non-compete that discloses trade secrets to a competitor could permanently damage future earnings and business growth. State-sponsored hackers interfering with the performance and uptime of critical systems could cost millions in lost revenue. Cybersecurity litigation may be necessary to recover losses from these issues and many more.
After an incident response, forensics, and investigations into the attack, most companies work with experts to determine what can be improved to avoid repeat victimization. Strategies into “lessons learned” are also costly because it often requires additional infrastructure and measures to remediate a common issue that the organization was unaware of previously.
An expert witness
An expert witness is a person with specialized knowledge, skills, education, or experience in a particular field who is called upon to provide their expertise in legal proceedings to assist the court with understanding complex technical or scientific issues.
The primary function of an expert witness (sometimes known as a forensic expert) is to express an independent expert opinion based on the information that is provided. An expert can be employed in different capacities for example at arbitration, tribunals, and litigation.
A witness is a person giving sworn evidence to a tribunal or court of law. There are basically two types of witness:
A witness is a person giving sworn evidence to a tribunal or court of law. There are basically two types of witness:
Witnesses of Fact who may give evidence of fact but may not normally give opinions;
Expert Witnesses who may give opinion evidence within their expertise and in addition evidence of facts.
Expert Witnesses who may give opinion evidence within their expertise and in addition evidence of facts.
Our experts provide meaningful insights supporting every stage of the cyber litigation process, from initial investigation and intelligence gathering, data and device collection and witness interviews, forensic analysis, expert witness review and testimony and post-litigation actions.
An Expert Witness will
Provide an independent expert opinion in their area of expertise on the subject matter in accordance with the instructions they are given. These instructions will be shown in the Expert Witness’s Report which will be seen by the other side and the Court.
Provide the opinion in the form of a report and/or evidence before a Court (or other tribunal) as required. The report is required as it is not usually possible for the Expert to give evidence without it.
Ensure the Expert’s Report provided to you contains the information required by the Court Rules. If you proceed you will have to give a copy of the report to the other side in the dispute. At that time a copy of the other side’s Expert’s Report will be given to you.
Comply with the specific procedure rules applicable and any Court or tribunal Orders in the case.
Provide truthful, impartial and independent opinions whether or not these opinions favor your case.
An expert witness has an overriding duty to the Court (or other tribunal). This duty supersedes any duty owed to you even though you are still responsible for paying the expert’s fees.
The Court expects an expert witness to be independent and impartial and will discount the evidence of one who is or is seen to be partisan.
Provide an independent expert opinion in their area of expertise on the subject matter in accordance with the instructions they are given. These instructions will be shown in the Expert Witness’s Report which will be seen by the other side and the Court.
Provide the opinion in the form of a report and/or evidence before a Court (or other tribunal) as required. The report is required as it is not usually possible for the Expert to give evidence without it.
Ensure the Expert’s Report provided to you contains the information required by the Court Rules. If you proceed you will have to give a copy of the report to the other side in the dispute. At that time a copy of the other side’s Expert’s Report will be given to you.
Comply with the specific procedure rules applicable and any Court or tribunal Orders in the case.
Provide truthful, impartial and independent opinions whether or not these opinions favor your case.
An expert witness has an overriding duty to the Court (or other tribunal). This duty supersedes any duty owed to you even though you are still responsible for paying the expert’s fees.
The Court expects an expert witness to be independent and impartial and will discount the evidence of one who is or is seen to be partisan.
An Expert Witness will not
Be your advocate and argue your case, nor will they find evidence or suggest what your case should consist of. It is for you or your legal representatives to advocate your case.
Provide any opinion beyond their specific area of expertise.
Provide advice.
Provide advice.
Accept any appointment which involves a conflict of interest (unless resolvable by disclosure).
Accept any appointment on terms that are conditional on the outcome of the case. Examples of these are success fees or conditional fee arrangements (any form of payment linked to the results of the Case). Conditional terms are incompatible with the expert being seen to be independent.
Act as a negotiator.
Accept any appointment on terms that are conditional on the outcome of the case. Examples of these are success fees or conditional fee arrangements (any form of payment linked to the results of the Case). Conditional terms are incompatible with the expert being seen to be independent.
Act as a negotiator.
Litigation Readiness & How Secunets Technologies Can Help
For most organizations, avoiding a cybersecurity lawsuit is a key element in business continuity. Secunets Technologies can help with case management to avoid the litigation nightmare. We offer litigation readiness, so your files, data, and audit trails are ready for investigation and forensics.
E-discovery is also a component in cybersecurity litigation, and Secunets' case management strategies make this process far more convenient with less overhead for all parties involved. We transform data storage strategies into compliant collections of audited data for identification, preservation, review, and analysis during litigation proceedings.
If you’d like to learn more, Secunets Technologies hosts an on-demand webinar to help decipher negligent, non-compliant, and malicious users within your organization.
