At its January meeting, the New Jersey State Bar Association’s (NJSBA) governing body took action on a range of topics, including proposed rule changes to ensure the protection of incapacitated adults. The Board of Trustees also was briefed on how to stay safe amid cybersecurity threats.
The board agreed to submit comments on proposed rule changes to ensure the protection of incapacitated adults from the risks of potential abuse, neglect and financial exploitation by guardians.
The NJSBA lauded the proposed changes to Rule 4:86 but expressed concerns that the certification and fingerprinting requirements could have a disproportional impact on individuals with lower incomes. Further, the NJSBA said the requirement to disclose all civil and criminal judgments is overly broad and could result in proposed guardians having to provide information that is not germane to a determination about their qualifications.
Former NJSBA President Karol Corbin Walker, who is the New Jersey delegate to the American Bar Association, gave the board an update on the upcoming Mid-Year Meeting, which will be held virtually next month. In a related development, the trustees voted to support resolutions that will be considered at the Mid-Year Meeting, including:
- 10b, which would require that federal, state, local and territorial courts consider diversity for all appointments
- 10e, which urges the adoption of the federal Daniel Anderl legislation to support judicial safety in light of the fatal attack at the home of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas (The measure urges Congress enact laws to prohibit the disclosure of personally identifiable information of active, senior, recalled or retired federal judges, including magistrate judges, bankruptcy judges, administrative law judges, administrative judges and immigration judges, and their immediate family who share their residence, including but not necessarily limited to home addresses or other personal contact or identifying information.)
- 106a, which encourages the use of pronouns consistent with a person’s gender identity within the legal profession and justice system, including in filed pleadings, during mediations and court proceedings, and within judicial opinions
Cybersecurity guidance
The trustees also received a cybersecurity briefing about the sweeping Solar Winds attack and Microsoft hacks that have wreaked havoc on hundreds of government agencies and businesses, including the New Jersey legal community.
The Solar Winds attack is regarded by cybersecurity officials as a “nightmare scenario.” The software that was hacked is used to manage a wide range of information technology (IT) platforms and functions. The attack allowed spyware called “Teardrop” to access sensitive information and began as far back as 2019. While the focus of the attack was on large businesses and government agencies, almost everyone is likely to work or associate with an organization that was directly hit, it has been reported.
In a separate attack in December, Microsoft said Russia attacked its platform. As a result, the hack extended far beyond the original reach to the general population. The information compromised extended to a wide range of transactions and files, including tax returns, GPS locations, court records, credit card information, company memos and legal records.
The NJSBA has begun to see infections in some incoming emails. The NJSBA has taken substantial steps to protect its records, and has alerted members who have shown signs of being hacked. To stay safe, it is important to follow a few guidelines:
- Never trust free software and don’t reuse passwords.
- Regularly update software and computers.
- Scan all inbound and outbound traffic.
- Monitor, detect and report security events and unusual behavior.
- Use a technology scan to mitigate unusual activity.
- Prohibit access to your resources from specific regions, and only allow access from countries where you have business.
- Work with a good technology partner.