Legal Talk Network has released the latest edition of our Digital Detectives podcast: “The Implications of NSA Surveillance for Lawyers.” Perhaps the thing we find most striking as we lecture to lawyers around the country is that they are only aware of the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NSA surveillance.

They have no idea of the depth and breadth of that surveillance – nor have they considered the ethical implications for lawyers. We know how (well, mostly) to fight Chinese hackers and cybercriminals – but do we know how to protect our clients’ confidences from the U.S. government?

We spend much of our time in the podcast (and the time is way too short to adequately describe the NSA’s activities) trying to hit the highlight of the revelations of the last several months. We also discuss the security and ethical implications for lawyers – and quite frankly, we’re still studying those.

Hope you find the podcast interesting. To us, it does seem like George Orwell was only off by a matter of years when he wrote 1984. Can “The Ministry of Truth” (which fictionalizes history in the novel) be far behind?

And mark your calendars for ABA TECHSHOW (March 27-29, 2014) where cybersecurity sessions are sure to be discussing this hot topic! Registration is already open.

– By Sharon Nelson and John Simek

Nelson and Simek have been frequent presenters at ABA TECHSHOW. Nelson served as Chair of the 2006 TECHSHOW Planning Board. Together, they are the principals of Sensei Enterprises.