Companies now have a new Data Breach Toolkit at their fingertips to protect themselves both before and after a data breach.

A veteran team of privacy and cyber-security professionals with the law firm Steptoe & Johnson created the soup-to-nuts resource, led by Stewart Baker, the first assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security; Michael Vatis, the founding director of the FBI's computer crime program; and Jason Weinstein, a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, who supervised the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Steptoe's Data Breach Toolkit will help companies minimize the chances of a breach, evaluate their level of preparation for a breach, and respond quickly and effectively in the event of a breach. It will help companies put themselves in a stronger position to defend against the second round of attacks—plaintiffs' lawyers and regulators. 

The Data Breach Toolkit comprises the following tools:

Before a breach occurs: Includes a checklist for critical components of a privacy and security assessment, such as network security, incident response planning, and vendor management.

After a breach occurs: Includes a checklist for putting together an incident response plan covering mobilizing of key personnel, containment and analysis, notification, and eradication and prevention.

Breach notification law roadmap: Summarizes the state and federal data breach notification laws currently in effect.

Toolkit on the go: A PDF version of the toolkit.

The toolkit is a free resource and is not designed to provide legal advice regarding breaches.

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