White House Blackberry Breach Yet Another Lesson for Lawyers

USA Today reports that several Blackberries belonging to White House aides were stolen by a Mexican diplomat in what may be the most audacious bit of espionage in a long time. The Blackberries were left unattended on a table outside a meeting room during a conference in New Orleans. It is yet another example of what can happen to mobile devices if their owners are not careful. That is to say, your smartphone will probably not be stolen by a Mexican diplomat, but thieves come in all shapes and sizes. As lawyers, we need to be sure we password protect all mobile devices, and encrypt any client documents we might choose to carry on the device, among other precautions.

I spoke to a fantastic crowd of lawyers on Tuesday in San Francisco on this very topic. I wish I had this story to put an exclamation point on my presentation, then again I never like to hear stories like this, especially when they happen to lawyers. For more information about securing your mobile technology, read the A Lawyer's Guide to Mobile Computer Security. And let's be careful out there!