Sundry Legal Stuff

If you can’t tell from the cavalier title, this section is not filled with citations, briefs, and other stuff that you can find in a law book. We’re going to help you attempt to do one thing: cover your assets. If you remember anything from this section, remember these three words: Do No Harm!

Criminal and civil laws vary. This section is not meant to provide legal advice, just some ideas that you can and should discuss with your legal advisors. It is good to know what laws cover the various computer crimes, but it is more important to know what you legally can or can’t access. Before and after your cases, you’ll have lots of time to read up on law, but during a case, don’t get distracted by legal issues that are not your responsibility to solve. Work closely with your corporate legal staff and law enforcement, and let them make decisions about what is acceptable. When you’re working a case, the clock is ticking, you’re trying to determine where to start, and your boss wants to know what is happening, it is not the time to worry about what law covers some incident. It is the time to do what you have to do and not do anything that could get the evidence suppressed and, more importantly, get you sued.