Beware When Judge Wants ‘Bone-Crushing’ Discovery

Judge Wants Bone-Crushing Discovery

Federal Judge Wants ‘Bone-Crushing’ Discovery into Data Breach

We are entering a new era of increased accountability. U.S. District Judge William Alsup repeatedly warned Facebook’s attorneys that he will allow “bone-crushing” discovery over Facebook’s data breach, saying he’s sympathetic to users’ concerns and that’s worth “real money.”

Facebook’s data breach did not result from a missing computer, but what if it had? How will an era of accountability impact IT Asset Management (ITAM)?

Forget Facebook for a second, how would your ITAM program survive ‘bone-crushing’ discovery if a missing computer is suspected in a breach?

Plaintiffs are eager to demonstrate defendants ignored obligations. Naturally, we should expect them to ask, how do we know only one computer is missing?

Easily-discoverable information makes ITAM in general, and IT asset disposition (ITAD) in particular, a prime target. Inventory discrepancies during the disposal phase represent the ITAD Gap. The bigger the gap, the bigger the exposure to ‘bone crushing’ discovery.

Could your company prove the whereabouts of every computer ever acquired and retired? Unlikely. The key question, have security incidents been ignored?

An organization faces more severe sanctions and punitive litigation if it disregards obligations and a breach is later discovered. Every company has an ITAD Gap, which is why every company should treat ITAD as a security threat.

I’m a fan of Facebook. As a user, I’m concerned about my privacy. I believe they take their obligations very seriously. It would be a big disappointment to discover Facebook ignored its ITAD Gap.

Facebook’s legal issues can serve as a lesson for the rest of us. Today, class-action litigation threatens almost every organization. Defensible disposition has become mandatory in this new era of accountability.

Contact me if you want to close the gap and ensure your ITAD program could withstand ‘bone-crushing’ discovery. We can close the gap without changing a vendor.

Retire-IT provides an effective solution to ITAD’s biggest challenges. Contact us, call us at (888) 839-6555, or email us at support@retire-it.com, and we look forward to speaking with you about how we can support you.

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