When Lawyers Attack!

Architecture and Background

DEF CON 16 - John "Jur1st" Benson: When Lawyers Attack! Dealing with the New Rules of Electronic Discovery The legal community is slowly accepting that the changes to the Federal rules which change the law's approach to electronic evidence are not going away. Vendors are clamoring to sell their e-discovery "solutions" to law firms and corporations alike, often taking advantage of the uncertainty that comes with such sweeping changes to the law.

Vulnerability Analysis

The changes to the Federal Rules change the way in which individuals and organizations approach their data much in the same way Sarbanes- Oxley has over the past few years. Instead of merely creating compliance headaches for security professionals, however, these changes take data security out of the hands of those charged to protect it and spread data to the wind. More frightening for individuals doing security research is the fact that these rules apply to the one man research operation as the multimillion dollar conglomerate in the same way.

Exploitation and Demonstrations

This talk outlines how the electronic discovery process works, why it is costing corporations millions of dollars (but doesn't have to) and will empower attendees with the knowledge they need to deal with this new legal environment. John Benson currently works as an electronic discovery consultant at a large Kansas City law firm. A graduate of the University of Missouri from both Columbia and Kansas City campuses, he is a member of the Missouri Bar Association and serves as the chairman of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association Computer Law and Technology Committee.

Remediation and Defensive Strategies

He has taught law, ethics and (oddly enough) finance as an adjunct professor at The Colorado Technical University. In 2008 he founded the Cowtown Computer Congress, a hackerspace and umbrella organization for the advancement of user-driven technology activities in Kansas City. He has presented at hacker cons around the country including LayerOne, Pumpcon, Shmoocon and DEFCON. He can be found on the DEFCON boards and assisting with radio communications at DEFCON. His website can be found at For copies of the slides and additional materials please see the DEF CON 16 Archive here: