Goodbye job applications, hello dream career
Seize control of your career and design the future you deserve with LW career

HSF launches in-house data breach software

Global firm Herbert Smith Freehills has developed its own in-house software to better help clients respond to data leaks in a timely manner and hopefully reduce the financial impact of cyber attacks.

user iconJerome Doraisamy 24 September 2018 Big Law
HSF launches in-house data breach software
expand image

The new software was built and developed in-house by lawyers, the firm said, and purports to automatically analyse leaked data to help identify what types of personal data have been breached.

“Under the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules in Europe and other international regulatory regimes, when a client finds itself victim to a data breach they have to firstly assess the risk to the individuals to determine – not only whether they need to notify the relevant data privacy regulator of the attack – but also whether it is necessary to inform the individuals to whom the data relates,” the firm explained in a statement.

“This requires an understanding of what data has been compromised and what a malicious actor could do with it.”

Leaked data falls into two categories, the firm noted: structured data or unstructured data.

“The conventional approach by many firms faced with a data breach of unstructured data is to engage in a manual review of the content of the documents to identify the type of personal data that has been leaked, and who the data subjects are,” the firm said.

“This can be a long and costly process, especially where large volumes of data are implicated.”

Speaking about the new software, HSF global cyber security practice head Andrew Moir said: “We have been saving our clients costs with this tool.

“Often the need for manual review of the original unstructured data can be significantly reduced, or sometimes even eliminated completely.”

The launch of the firm’s software follows a call from SmartWomen Connect founder Fiona Craig for in-house legal teams to develop their own technology and practice tools, thereby having greater oversight of what is being created and utilised for day-to-day legal work for respective businesses.

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.

You can email Jerome at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!