Law firms should consider a greater blanket of security when it comes to protecting its cyber information. Clients are realizing the increased need for their online information to be protected. Financial institutes are exploring the same area by answering questionnaires which assess companies’ security measures. For law firms, they may consider having an outsourced IT firm conduct an audit on their cybersecurity.
A main threat for these types of establishments are Black Hat Hackers. If the cyber security isn’t secure, these intruders could steal business secrets and personal client information. These details may even be used for their own financial benefit. There would also be nothing stopping a hacker from sharing the discovered information with other groups or businesses.
Some concerns of corporate security auditors include making sure that corporate emails are encrypted, data isn’t lost or carried away via flash drive, that documents aren’t shared to unsecure cellular devices, and that online intrusions don’t occur. If an auditing company does not feel confident about a legal firm’s online security measures, they may be prevented from taking on more work or required to purchase Cybersecurity insurance. A cybersecurity firm known as FireEye believes that 95% of all establishments are open to be attacked. This is due to a large number of legal firms that have not yet done a risk assessment for information and physical security.
Law enforcement is particularly interested in the online security of law firms. They urge law firms with offices outside of the United States to be especially aggressive with cybersecurity. The combination of law enforcement, corporate clients, and examples from the media may be enough to encourage law firms to take cyber security seriously. In 2013, Target experienced over 40 million credit and debit card accounts being compromised. The SEC is also pushing financial institutes and law firms to boost the security of sensitive information.
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