Guarding Your Electronic Communications During Your Divorce

 Posted on November 07, 2017 in Divorce

It is vital for you to protect your personal information and communications during your divorce. Spouses are looking for information that gives them an insight into the other party’s strategy or that can be used to discredit the other party. Access to your email, text messages and voicemails can expose all of that information and other details you may not want your spouse to know. Unauthorized access to your electronic accounts is illegal, but you would need to prove that your spouse surreptitiously gained access to the information. It is easier to strengthen your cyber security at the start of your divorce.

Security Breaches

Your spouse does not need the skills of a computer hacker in order to access your electronic accounts. Often, it is as simple as knowing your password. Spouses often share passwords with each other so they can both access important personal information. If you have not shared your passwords, your spouse may know where you have them written down. Once your spouse has gotten into your electronic accounts, he or she can:

• Read your correspondences with your attorney;
• View your financial statements;
• Find personal information that can be used to attack your character; and
• Install spyware to continue tracking you.

Electronic Discovery

Your spouse sometimes has the right to access your personal information, but only if he or she receives prior court approval. Your spouse must show that there is reason to believe you are hiding vital information and that finding it outweighs your right to privacy. Your spouse may try to avoid this legal process by claiming that you told him or her your password during your marriage. While this gives a spouse implied permission during the marriage, your divorce shows that you no longer consent to sharing access to your personal accounts.

Protecting Yourself

There are several measures you can take to prevent your spouse from accessing your electronic communications:

• Establish your own email and cellphone accounts;
• Change all of your passwords to something your spouse would not be able to guess;
• Change any security questions related to your passwords that your spouse may know; and
• Increase the privacy settings on your social media accounts.

If you believe your spouse has illegally accessed your electronic accounts, a computer forensics professional may be able to trace the actions back to your spouse.

Digital Divorce

Advances in technology have changed how we access and gather information during a divorce. A Kane County divorce attorney at Goostree Law Group understands how modern technology can both help and hurt you in a divorce. Schedule a free consultation by calling 630-584-4800.

Source:

http://familylawyermagazine.com/articles/digital-divorce-computer-forensics/