Cyber Litigation Attorney in Naples

At Vernon Litigation Group, we help businesses and business owners recover from cyber attacks through crisis management, preparing for litigation, and strengthening cybersecurity practices. “We’ve been hacked” is a daunting realization for any business owner who has spent years building a successful and reputable company.

A successful cyberattack is an “all-hands-on-deck” crisis and business owners must be prepared to respond immediately and decisively. If you suspect that customers’ personal information was accessed, compromised, stolen, or used in a fraudulent way, the cyberattack may have caused a “data breach.”

Speak with one of our Naples cybersecurity litigation attorneys today by filling out our online form or calling us directly at (239) 319-4434.

How Does Cyber Litigation Differ From Traditional Litigation Practices?

Cyber litigation differs from traditional litigation practices in several key ways:

• Nature of Evidence: In cyber litigation, evidence often consists of digital data such as emails, logs, metadata, and other electronic records. This digital evidence requires specialized handling and analysis compared to physical documents used in traditional litigation.
• Jurisdictional Challenges: Cyber litigation can involve parties from different states or countries due to the borderless nature of the internet. Determining jurisdiction and applicable laws becomes more complex compared to traditional cases that are typically confined to a specific geographical area.
• Technical Expertise: Cyber litigation requires a higher level of technical expertise from legal teams to understand complex technologies, cyber threats, encryption methods, and data security protocols. Traditional litigation may not demand the same level of technical knowledge.
• Speed and Scale: Cyber incidents can happen at a rapid pace and on a large scale, impacting multiple individuals or organizations simultaneously. This dynamic nature requires quick responses and efficient coordination, distinguishing it from the often slower pace of traditional litigation.
• Preventative Measures: Proactively preventing cyber incidents through robust cybersecurity measures is crucial in cyber litigation. Traditional litigation focuses more on resolving disputes after they occur rather than preventing them through preemptive security measures.
• Reputation Management: Cyber litigation often involves managing reputational damage caused by data breaches or cyberattacks. Protecting brand reputation and customer trust becomes a significant concern in cyber litigation, a factor less prominent in traditional litigation.
• Regulatory Compliance: Cyber litigation is influenced by a complex web of data protection and privacy regulations, such as GDPR or CCPA, which may not have a direct impact on traditional litigation practices. Compliance with these regulations adds another layer of complexity to cyber litigation cases. 

Why is Cybersecurity Important?

Cybersecurity stands as an indispensable shield guarding against threats online. With businesses, organizations, and individuals increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure, the ramifications of cybersecurity breaches can be severe, ranging from financial losses to tarnished reputations and legal liabilities.

What Are Common Types of Cyber Threats?

The common types of cyber threats that assail individuals and organizations alike. These threats, often evolving in sophistication and scope, require a proactive and multifaceted approach to mitigation and response.

• Malware: Malicious software, or malware, represents a pervasive threat capable of infiltrating systems to disrupt operations, steal data, or compromise security. From viruses and worms to ransomware and spyware, malware encompasses a diverse array of malicious programs designed to exploit vulnerabilities in software and networks.
• Phishing: Phishing attacks leverage deceptive tactics to manipulate users into divulging sensitive information such as login credentials, financial data, or personal details. Often disguised as legitimate communications from trusted entities, phishing emails, messages, or websites can deceive even the most vigilant individuals, making them a potent tool in the arsenal of cybercriminals.
• Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks: Denial of Service attacks aim to overwhelm a target system or network with an influx of traffic, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate users. By exploiting vulnerabilities in network infrastructure or flooding servers with malicious requests, DoS attacks can disrupt services, degrade performance, and cause financial harm to businesses reliant on digital operations.
• Insider Threats: While external threats garner significant attention, insider threats pose a formidable risk to cybersecurity, often leveraging privileged access or knowledge to undermine security measures. Whether driven by malicious intent, negligence, or coercion, insiders can inflict substantial harm by abusing their position to exfiltrate data, sabotage systems, or facilitate unauthorized access.

What a Cybersecurity Litigation Attorney Can Do for You

Once retained, your attorney can act as your surrogate and make necessary or prudent statements and requests to:

• Law enforcement
• The IRS
• Insurance carriers
• And guide you in communicating with impacted customers, and even deal with the press if necessary

All with an objective and trained view that will help businesses avoid unnecessary litigation and position the business for necessary litigation (and otherwise minimize the harm to your business).

Business owners who communicate personally with those impacted by the data breach or involved in the investigation may be inadvertently harming their businesses’ ability to recover.

Vernon Litigation Group has experience guiding businesses through cyberattacks, including:

• Notification obligations to customers and the Department of Legal Affairs under Florida’s data breach notification law (Florida Information Privacy Act of 2014)
• Responding to data breaches caused by insider threats, such as corporate espionage, trade secret, and intellectual property theft
• Notifying insurance carriers and seeking coverage for cyberattacks and data breaches
• Coordinating network forensics and data breach investigations, including coordinating criminal investigations with the FBI, IRS, Department of Homeland Security, and local law enforcement
• Assisting businesses whose employees, software vendors, or IT contractors were responsible for the data breach
• Recovering from cyberattacks involving ransomware, business compromise schemes, advanced persistent threats, phishing and spoofing, software vulnerabilities and exploits
• And/of defending and pursuing violations of internal privacy policies or terms of service, wire transfer fraud and financial cybercrime, and civil litigation under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)

Count on Our Experienced Attorneys to Fight for Your Interests

If you believe you or your clients have been the victim of a data breach or other cyberattack, we urge you to act quickly to hire us and, in turn, we can begin to act quickly to mitigate your damages, both legally and commercially.

In addition to representing clients impacted by cyberattacks, founding partner Chris Vernon is a member of the Collier Identity Theft Task Force in Collier County and speaks regularly on cyber law issues and Vernon Litigation Group Attorney has written extensively on cybersecurity issues as well as being a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Schedule your initial consultation by calling our office at (239) 319-4434 or completing our online contact form.