District Court Finds Cybersecurity Forensics Report Is Not Protected Work Product

On June 25, 2020, the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia affirmed a magistrate judge's decision that a cybersecurity forensics report prepared following a data breach and at the direction of outside counsel was not protected by the work-product doctrine and must be produced.¹ The Court's decision serves as a stark reminder of the heavy burden required to maintain work-product protection. Forensics reports are extremely important documents, and are sometimes the subject of discovery disputes, as they provide critical information that may reflect an entity's preventative measures and subsequent response to a data breach.

 A few lessons learned from the court's decision will help entities strengthen their claim for work-product protection and maintain a forensics report's confidentiality.