Social Networking: Setting Boundaries in a Borderless Brave New World
The explosive growth and morphing applications of social media such as Facebook and Twitter create new opportunities and challenges for individual users, parents, employers, organizations, governments, and marketers. Where a social phenomenon has such a wide and unpredictable impact, it almost inevitably attracts a retinue of lawmakers and regulators, as well as lawyers and HR managers struggling to craft appropriate policies for employees. And given the globalization of social media, those policies have to take account of the evolving rules in multiple jurisdictions.
Continue Reading...Information Security Standards and Certifications in Contracting
When organizations contract for outsourced IT services, they look for assurances that the vendor will provide adequate security, often in the form of a security schedule or annex to the contract, or by reference to a widely accepted information security standard. In some cases, the customer insists as well on a certification or audit by an expert third party.
Business managers and lawyers often have only the vaguest notions of what these schedules, standards, and certifications mean. They rely on the organization’s IT staff or consultants for “the technical stuff.” But in the end it is the business managers and lawyers who determine what the organization needs, operationally and contractually. To do that well, they should have at least a basic understanding of the more common information security standards and certifications.
Information Security Clauses and Certifications - Part 1
Outsourcing business and IT functions often means outsourcing compliance and liability risks as well. When a service contract involves protected categories of personal information, both parties need to understand the security requirements and risks. The contract should allocate responsibilities to prevent and respond to security breaches. The contract may also set expectations more precisely by incorporating a written security policy or referring to a widely accepted information security standard, sometimes accompanied by a requirement for a third-party security audit or assessment.
What contractual information security provisions should you consider, as a customer or as a vendor or business partner, when the contract contemplates the exchange of protected information? What do security standards and audits entail for a vendor, and what do they offer for a customer?
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