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What does your
clients IT infrastructure
Policy contain ?
Unfortunately, not many lawyers can
answer this question even more
frightening, not many IT managers can
answer this question. Why ? They don't
know. It's either, there is no IT
infrastructure policy in place ( a more
likely scenario) or one exist but no one
implements or bothers to audit it for
functional relevance.
What is an IT infrastructure policy ?
and how is it relevant to the main
characters in a potential litigation or
arbitration?
 An IT infrastructure policy embodies
accepted standards for organising and implementing an
information system Network; thus making
it possible to secure, audit and micro
manage all components and devices on the
information
network.
Litigation readiness
In this era of electronic
discovery and digital documents, a
corporate counsel or a practicing
Attorney ( in particular),
cannot be heard to say " IT matters and
related policies are not my forte; that
is an assignment for the IT
Manager or compliance department". Wrong.
Whether or not your client implements an
accepted IT audit and security policy on
their information network may become
very relevant in dispute resolution as
they affect for example, IT projects
implementation, reliability of
electronic documents or employee /
employer obligations with respect to the
use of the internet and its associated
technologies.
It will be necessary for example to
proactively determine if a
corporate client conducts regular
audits of its information security baseline
and complies with statutory regulations
governing data security and information
systems management. This is in addition
to identifying the custodian of
relevant documents within an
organisation for discovery and
production purposes. Some lines of
inquiry will include -
Is
there an incident response team ? if yes
what is the scope of their authority for
privacy and Human rights related
issues?
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What access privilege exist on
your client's network ? Do you
know what Network topology is
implemented in your client's
Network ?
Do
you know what computer models,
software or Network devices are
installed ? What international
standards does your client adopt
in formulating its IT
infrastructure policy?
As indicated earlier these are
not just questions for the IT
Manager ( who may not be well
informed ). You will soon
realise this when you are served
with your first request for
document discovery (which covers
emails and all digital
documents).
Proactive preparation cannot be
overemphasised. In other to
overcome the practical
difficulties that may arise,
when a court or tribunal
imposes a return date for
discovery or specific disclosure
of computer evidence, there must
be in existence, a formal
protocol on the identification,
collection and preservation of
computer data or evidence.
How
can we Help ?
We provide gap
analysis report concerning the
audit and compliance status of
any organisation. We draft and
implement
the necessary protocols to
address any inherent
deficiencies for litigation
readiness. This is a
one stop strategy and cost
saving approach.
By
securing our services, you would
have covered, the
legal, technical and
implementation requirements to
position your organisation or
client in a formidable state to
respond and strategise
effectively on matters touching
on computer discovery and
electronic document disclosure.
Contact Us
for further
info or check our
range
of courses.
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