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06 April 2020 / Paul Schwartfeger
Issue: 7883 / Categories: Features , Covid-19 , Data protection , Profession
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Remote working: a risky business?

COVID-19 has forced a new way of working onto many of us, but in the rush to adapt the additional cybersecurity risks should not be ignored, says Paul Schwartfeger
  • Given the present uncertainties, we should be asking ourselves whether a particular communication tool or channel is appropriate for sharing information of an especially confidential kind.
  • Before we share it, we should also consider what steps we have taken to minimise the cybersecurity risks.

When the current lockdown began on 23 March, the state instructed people to work from home wherever possible. Many workplaces closed their doors in response, leaving us hastily finding new ways of working, meeting and keeping in touch from our homes. Usage of videoconferencing, online collaboration tools and chat systems surged as a result. However, the increased use of these tools has brought with it cybersecurity risks.

Warnings of these risks were amplified when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a photo of himself participating in a virtual cabinet meeting via the videoconferencing app ‘Zoom’. The Prime Minister sought to demonstrate how he and

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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