Confessions of a Plaintiff's Expert

Interhack scientist Bob Mathis will present at the State of Information Security 2007 Executive Forum in Columbus, Ohio at the Blackwell Inn on October 23, 2007.

Abstract

If your company's attorneys had to represent to a court that your organization did not have a particular record, could they do so correctly and with confidence?

Corporate information technology (IT) departments are widely tasked with ensuring that information is always available when needed by the business. Requirements for integrity and confidentiality have driven additional changes in policy for information management and the mechanisms used to implement such policy. To a large degree, these matters have widely been considered “technology” issues and handled exclusively within the domain of IT management.

Risk, however, goes far beyond the matter of hostile actors breaking into systems with sensitive data. With legal, regulatory, and contractual issues binding the organization, a failure of effective information management poses considerable risks to the organization. The possibility of indictment of executives and firms, fines paid to regulators, and settlements paid to plaintiffs weigh on the consciousness of businesses of all types.

To illustrate how technologists and lawyers need to work together to identify and to manage risk in the organization, Matt Curtin will discuss his work as a forensic computer scientist and a case where his analysis led to findings contrary to assertions made by the company sued for violating the privacy of people using the Web. Attendees should understand the need for cooperation among disciplines in the organization and strategies for ensuring success.

About the State of Information Security 2007

The State of Information Security 2007 is a luncheon and executive-level security forum hosted by Sun Microsystems, Simplesoft, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. It will be held in Columbus, Ohio at the Blackwell Inn on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 from 11:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

To RSVP call Sue Hachten at +1 614 448 4050.

About Interhack

Interhack is a pioneering professional services firm, active in security and privacy research, with a forensic computing practice that has been involved in cutting-edge litigation on electronic privacy matters.

Established in 2000, Interhack's forensic computing practice helps in-house counsel, incident response teams, law enforcement agencies and law firms establish facts that can be used in litigation or criminal prosecution.