![]() ![]() The three digit combination locks on catalog cases only provides a false sense of security when the lock can be pried with a screwdriver, or the entire case can simply be picked up and taken away. Attorneys who bring their files to court risk having a file stolen out of a briefcase. The situation gets worse when files travel. Even a security system, at best, only limits the amount of time a burglar has in an office. Most filing cabinets locks can be popped with a crowbar. Accessing a file is as simple as kicking open a door or breaking a window. ![]() Everything else is kept in filing cabinets or on shelves. Even firms that have safes only store a tiny fraction of files in them. The problem is that law offices are not banks. I realize that most paper files are under some type of lock and key. If you have access to the physical file, you have access to the information in the file. Paper itself has no security: you cannot encrypt paper. What about the security of paper? There is none. Recreating a file takes a lot of leg work, and there is no guarantee that you will get everything you had before. Oh, you may be able to recreate part of the file: you may be able to get pleadings from the court, medical records from the doctor. One fire, one storm, one burglary and it all could be gone. If any page is destroyed, the information on it is gone. Paper based files often have no redundancy. These are inherently less secure since each page is often the sole repository of the information it contains. Let’s look at the other two big issues in using a cloud based service: security and control. Security is always a matter of asking, "as compared to what?" When looking at cloud based storage it is important to consider how it stacks up against other storage options.Īt one end of the spectrum are pure paper based files. And the people you trust could more easily disclose client confidences than any cloud based service provider. The seldom discussed fact of law offices is that you rely on trust A LOT to maintain confidences. You are relying that the trust you have put in the storage company and it’s employees and contractors is not misplaced. You have given up security for the client information. You have just given up control of the files. You have just given all your client’s confidential records, medical information, social security number, to some guy in a jumpsuit, secured with nothing more than an ill fitting cardboard lid. ![]() cover it with a lid, then you give them to a man who takes them away. Still don’t think trust is a big factor in your day-to-day operations in a law office? Do you use a service for storing closed files? You know the drill: you put the files into a cardboard box. You trust that someone will not walk in off the street during business hours and take a file. You trust your cleaning staff, copier technician, plumber, or your landlord’s HVAC servicer not to listen in on discussions, look over papers or take documents. You trust their families not to look too closely at documents on desks. You trust your staff to keep confidences. As a firm grows, trust becomes more important. If you do not own your office, you trust your landlord not to riffle through your documents. However, even solo practitioners have to trust someone. Where are they located and who has access?.Using cloud based service raises issues of security, control, and trust. There is a widening divide among lawyers: those who embrace cloud based services because of the advantages they provide (distributed off site storage, synchronization, and access) and those who are justifiably concerned about putting clients’ documents into someone else’s hands. The following Guest Post is from my friend and technology wizard, Tomasz Stasiuk : ![]()
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