Smart Phones Pose a New Risk

The presence of work-related data on employees' personal devices could create a thorny legal issue.

Employees are increasingly using their personal mobile devices on the job, often with the explicit approval of their employers. But while that permits more work to be done outside the office and at odd hours while sparing companies from paying for the devices, it doesn't add up to a pure win-win situation. For most businesses, some degree of risk is involved when company information resides on employees' smart phones or PDAs.

Law firm Mayer Brown discusses a growing legal risk involving mobile devices in a recent memo. If a company is sued or investigated, it could be required as part of the discovery process to provide electronically stored information relevant to the case. If such data is stored on employees' personal devices, the company may be in an awkward position, the firm points out. While it may have an internal policy stating that all company information belongs to the company wherever it is located, the law is not yet settled as to whether the company can compel employees to hand over personal devices.

At the same time, not providing such information for discovery purposes could expose a company to charges of spoliation, or tampering with evidence, which can result in significant monetary and other penalties. "Nothing in this area is settled," Mayer Brown partner Anthony Diana tells CFO. "The law is always several years behind the way people are using technology for work. And where there are murky legal issues, there is great risk."

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Source: cfo.com
By: David McCann