18 Mar 2016

Rajah & Tann to offer one-stop service to combat and prevent data breaches

Rajah & Tann Singapore (Rajah & Tann) said today that it is collaborating with technical/forensic specialists to provide a one-stop service for companies looking to prepare for and respond to data breaches.

The demand for data breach readiness and response services comes at a time of increasing occurrences of data breaches, resulting in rising losses for companies as they face a swathe of cyber intrusions into their IT systems including hacking, theft of customer data, credit cards, and phishing attacks. Cyber intrusions are just the tip of the iceberg; data breaches can arise from many other causes such as employee mischief or neglect, inadvertent leak, lack of or failure in security measures, equipment failure, human error, etc.

A research report by the Ponemon Institute has shown that the average total cost of a data breach for an organisation increased from US$3.52 million in 2014 to US$3.79 million in 2015.

Rajah & Tann said the consequences of a data breach for an organisation are severe, ranging from a loss of reputation, plummeting stock price or revenue, loss of customers, legal suits and damages to be paid out, loss of regulatory licence or significant regulatory fines being imposed.

Depending on the cause and circumstance, some data breaches may have significant repercussions for senior management personnel including possible loss of job and personal criminal liability. It is only a question of time before a data breach occurs in any organisation, if not already so. With data continuing to be a key asset and operational currency of any organisation, it is of paramount importance for an organisation to pay attention to how it can reduce the impact of a data breach and effectively deal with it, when a breach does happen.

Rajah & Tann’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications Partner and Deputy Head, Steve Tan, said that this new one stop service will allow clients one point of contact for both legal and technical services that complete the data breach preparedness and response ecosystem. Rajah & Tann will work with technical/forensic specialists to provide legal and technical support respectively to clients to assess their readiness in protecting data (corporate and/or personal data), to prepare them to deal with data breaches, and to effectively respond to a data breach when it happens.

Mr Tan said: “We decided to work with technical/forensic specialists to address the growing concern among corporate clients around the profound consequences for their businesses and their customers from data breaches and to provide holistic services dealing with data breach preparedness and response. The ubiquitousness of technology in everyday things (the Internet of Things) and an organisation’s reliance on data as a key asset of the organisation can only mean the ever impending threat of a data breach.

“The reality is that it is a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ that a data breach occurs and if so, customers and regulators would want to be assured that the organisation would be in control of the situation when it happens.”

The new services will provide clients with a unique one-stop-shop approach to effectively handle data breaches. Clients will enjoy the benefit of the legal expertise of Rajah & Tann and the technical/forensic expertise of a technical/forensic specialist company.

The services provided by Rajah & Tann and the technical/forensic specialist company can be customised, depending on the nature of the breach and what is needed to be done. It is intended to cater to the budget of every organisation, whether an SME, a large organisation, a financial institution, etc.

It also seeks to provide organisations with a holistic solution designed to assist in preventing data breaches and/or in effectively responding to a data breach. These include an assessment of data breach readiness, data breach preparedness activities, data breach incident response. Should a data breach occur, a representative from Rajah & Tann and/or the technical/forensic specialist company would be onsite within a pre-agreed time, to assist the client in handling the data breach, including containing the breach, ascertaining the cause, assessing the breach consequences, evaluating response and crisis management.

Rajah & Tann is one of the largest full-service law firms in Singapore and South East Asia, with market leading practices in dispute resolution, international arbitration, shipping, insolvency, restructuring, corporate & commercial, amongst others. It is one of the region’s most highly regarded law firms, with international legal journals and surveys consistently rating the firm and several of its lawyers as among the best in their areas of practice.

 

About Rajah & Tann Asia www.rajahtann.com

Rajah & Tann Asia brings together leading law firms and lawyers in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with each offering the highest standards of service to locally-based clients while collectively having the capacity to handle the most complex regional and cross-border transactions and to provide excellent legal counsel seamlessly across the region. With more than 600 lawyers, all working towards one shared goal, we are lawyers who know Asia and who give our clients home advantage.