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“One of the things you should not do is start hiding information, not tell anybody, forget about the notification. If you do that you dig yourself into a hole”.

More than 40% of UK organisations believe cyber-attackers can infiltrate their networks at every attempt according to new research from CyberArk “CyberArk Advanced Threat Landscape Report 2019” which surveyed 1000 global organisations.

News coverage of data breaches and cyber-attacks continues at a relentless pace. The recent ICO fines against British Airways and Marriott being the latest to dominate the headlines.

For many organisations, it has meant that the role of the legal department has needed to evolve and adapt at responding better to unremitting threats.

In the face of the continued threat of cybercrime, Clive Davies, senior counsel at Fujitsu, talks about how to successfully navigate your organisation through the new-age of data privacy and cybersecurity in the TED-style presentation.

A lesson from Douglas Adams

As technology both helps and advances us, there is in parallel and inevitable development of the risks we, and our organisations are exposed to. In this context, Clive is keen to emphasise the vital role of in-house counsel can play in any incident far beyond just making things legally privileged.

Taking advice from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Clive’s first tip is don’t panic! To ensure legal add value and make a positive and sensible contribution to effectively managing the inevitable “not if, but when” data breach or cyberattack, he reiterated that in-house counsel must “tackle the problem head on, involving other parts of the business in cyber protection”.

Legal is the heart

When your business, or a business you are related to as a customer or supplier does face an incident, Clive keenly emphasises that there is a proven process to follow to effectively manage an incident.

Moreover, Clive reiterates that the process is one in which the legal function is critical. Far beyond just acting as lawyers, in-house counsel must provide management support as trusted advisors. The legal department is perfectly placed at this time to lead and help their company go carefully through the process, guiding other functions and the wider business in the next best steps to take.

This presentation was part of our inaugural #CraftyLexis Masterclass, in collaboration with Crafty Counsel. The event attracted GCs from across several industries. It explored how in-house counsel can demonstrate, articulate and deliver value within their organisations in effective and innovative ways through a mixture of punchy, TED-style presentations and facilitated interactive workshops which encouraged peer discussion, learning and sharing of best practice.

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Additional recommended reading 

 - this Precedent Cybercrime risk assessment can be used to identify your critical IT/data assets, consider the most likely targets and potential types of attack, and pinpoint effective defences against those specific types of attack