Paying for stolen data — even when it’s your own — comes with substantial legal and reputational risks.
January 04, 2023
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Summary. In the course of routine monitoring, you may come across proprietary company information on the dark web. So should you try to buy it back?The short answer is that in most cases, the legal and reputational risks far outweigh the benefits of purchasing the information. Here’s a closer look at eight of those risks.
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One day I got a call from Sarah*, the in-house counsel at a large financial institution. “Our [information security] team was doing a routine search and found a list of our employee passwords for sale on the dark web,” she told me. “The business folks want to buy it back. What should we do? Should we buy it ourselves? Are there any downsides?”
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Read more on Business ethics or related topics Intellectual property and Cybersecurity and digital privacy
Brenda R. Sharton is a litigation partner and global Chair of Dechert LLP’s top-ranked, Privacy & Cybersecurity practice. She is an internationally recognized expert, pioneer and thought leader in the space. Ms. Sharton is Chambers ranked and a Legal 500 “Leading Lawyer” in Cyber Law/Breach response. In 2022, Ms. Sharton received Law360’s MVP award in Cybersecurity and Privacy. She has quarterbacked over 1,000 data breach investigations of all types and negotiated ransom for some the highest profile cyberattacks brought by threat actors ranging from nation states to organized crime to insiders. A first chair trial lawyer, Ms. Sharton has litigated landmark privacy litigation and regulatory enforcement matters brought by regulators across the globe.
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New!
HBR Learning
Ethics at Work Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Ethics at Work. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Avoid integrity traps in the workplace.
Read more on Business ethics or related topics Intellectual property and Cybersecurity and digital privacy
