Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CD/DVD.backups.and.store.them.away.from.their.premises,.
somewhere.safe.and.easily.accessible.
The.bottom.line.is.that.backups.and.off-line.storage.can.be.
a.inal.and.extremely.important.resource.for.controlling.access.
to.your.electronically.stored.information..Think.carefully.about.
the.most.effective.way.you.or.your.organization.can.manage.
these. procedures. and. ensure. they. are. done. correctly,. prac-
ticed.religiously.by.everyone.involved,.and.tested.regularly.
6.6 LITIGATION HOLD
One. important. process. to. be. aware. of. and. ensure. is. well.
established,.especially.in.an.organization,.is.the.litigation.hold.
In.any.legal.matter.in.the.United.States,.you.are.required.
(as.we.illustrated.in.Chapter.1.on.rules.of.procedure.and.case.
law). to. carefully. preserve. any. and. all. relevant. evidence. as.
soon.as.you.have.reason.to.believe.there.might.be.litigation.
(Figure 6.5).. That. is. a. relatively. vague. and. anomalous. dei-
nition.of.when.you.should.actually.trigger.that.preservation.
process,.and.it.is.subject.to.interpretation..However,.in.most.
of.the.cases.I've.studied,.it.was.clear.that.courts.expect.you.
to. begin. preserving. data. as. soon. as. you. would. reasonably.
expect.that.there.might.be.a.legal.matter.arising.from.your.
actions.or.from.some.event.
There.have.been.cases.where.the.courts.ruled.that.data.
should. have. been. preserved. because. someone. received. a.
phone. call. from. a. known. litigious. company. regarding. their.
patent.rights..They.didn't.speciically.say.“we.plan.to.sue.you”.
or.serve.any.kind.of.legal.notice..However,.the.courts.basi-
cally.said,.“You.should.have.known.this.would.become.a.legal.
matter. and. started. preserving. data. immediately—and. since.
you.didn't,.you.are.liable.for.the.loss.of.that.data.”
As.an.organization.you.should.spend.time.with.your.legal.
counsel.discussing.your.policy.about.what.constitutes.a.trig-
ger.for.preserving.evidence..Again,.as.always,.this.is.a.risk.
management. decision. about. how. much. time,. money,. and.
resources.you.feel.are.appropriate.to.spend.on.preservation,.
