What Lawyers Should Know About Cloud Computing Security Standards

The large volume of data that many law firms handle makes utilizing cloud computing services a very enticing prospect. What ethical standards should lawyers expect these companies to abide by? What should lawyers look for in a cloud computing provider? In this episode of The Digital Edge, hosts Sharon Nelson and Jim Calloway speak with Clio founder and CEO Jack Newton and Rocket Matter founder and CEO Larry Port about cloud computing and the new cloud security standards for legal professionals released by the Legal Cloud Computing Association. Larry explains what the LCCA is and how it formed out of a need to educate lawyers about what is happening in the cloud. Jack provides some insight into the creation of the security standards, such as terms of service privacy policies and encryption, and states that with these standards as a baseline lawyers will be able to more easily assess if a cloud computing provider is adhering to certain ethical standards. Larry also lists a few factors lawyers should consider, like where the SaaS data center is located, and the four things (vulnerability scans, penetration testing, and aesthetic code and dynamic code reviews) that the standards require in security testing. They both end the interview with an analysis of in-transit and at rest encryption and the benefits and drawbacks of zero knowledge level security. Jack Newton is the founder and CEO of Clio and recently joined the board of the International Legal Technology Standards Organization (ILTSO). He also co-founded and is acting president of the Legal Cloud Computing Association (LCCA). Jack received his master of science in computing science from the University of Alberta. Larry Port is the founder and CEO of Rocket Matter and is a speaker and award winning writer at the crossroads of the legal profession, cutting edge technology, and law firm marketing. He was named to the 2012 Fastcase 50 and received his master of computer science with an emphasis in distributed systems from New York University. Special thanks to our sponsors, ServeNow, CloudMask, and Scorpion.