Does Your Smartphone Adequately Protect Client Communications?

Nearly every attorney I know has a phone that can access email, edit documents, and receive text messages and many can carry reams of electronic documents.  If you can access your work email then it is fairly certain that your client commucations are at risk.  It was recently questioned whether President Obama would give up his Blackberry when he took office (apparently he has not) in light of the Presidential Records Act and security concerns.  If the President’s smartphone is a security risk to the country’s national security, is it a risk to your clients’ privileged communications?  According to a law.com article and common sense: Definitely.  Don’t worry, however, there are some things you can do to moderate the risk significantly:

• Password protect your smartphone.  You don’t need a dramatic 15-character password to thwart the bulk of the would-be information thieves.
• Limit the number of email your smartphone stores at any one time.  Adjust your phone’s settings so that it is not storing your entire inbox, outbox, trash, work in progress, cabinet, etc.
• Establish a procedure in case of a lost or stolen phone.  You should know your service provider number in order to immediately cancel all service to the phone.  Some providers and phones are also equipped to disable the phone’s utilities remotely before any information is accessed.  Now is also a good time to review your organization’s lost or stolen phone policy.
• Old smartphones should be professionally wiped clean of any information.  Even if you remove your SIM card from a smartphone, the email settings and other access items can remain with the phone.  For example, I am aware of an attorney who sold his old smartphone on eBay and when the purchaser inserted his SIM card was able to access the attorney’s email account and send email.
• Finally, protect your smartphone as if it were your client file back at the office– it holds much of the same information.

“Hey, let’s be careful out there . . .”

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