Legal and security departments share the common goal of protecting an organization from harm. But, while both work to ensure security and compliance, the respective teams play distinct roles in achieving these goals. Through close collaboration and communication, each team can help the other optimize security and compliance throughout the organization.
For some organizations, legal develops security and/or data handling policies for the employees, to ensure proper handling of information. For other organizations, such policies may be developed by the security department in coordination with legal. These policies help define which information is sensitive, what constitutes authorized activity, and how to meet contractual, regulatory and internal compliance requirements. Legal and security often partner with human resources to keep employees informed about these policies.
