Data is king in today’s world of information streams, and that could not be any truer for lawyers. Lawyers handle the most private and sensitive information of their clients. The data and evidence they require to serve their clientele are also kept in check and confidential. The clients also expect that their information is in safe hands with the lawyers. Such information is often crucial for court hearings and judicial decisions, which is why it is this precious data that many malicious threat actors have an eye for.
Security breaches are becoming more and more commonplace these days and, despite the best efforts from the corporate side, breaches become a question of ‘when ‘rather than ‘if’. Legal firms in particular are hugely threatened by the prospect of being hacked since it is the confidentiality and data protection offered by these firms that retain and attracts their clients. In the case that they do get hacked, their reliability in the public eye plummets.
Therefore, there are a number of ‘best practices’ that such law firms can incorporate into their business in order to protect their future business and reputation.
1. Assess the Current Condition of Your Security System
Safety concerns and loopholes in the existing security infrastructure should be assessed and dealt with by the firm. A full company-wide inspection of all access points, networks, safe practices and users, both hardware and software-wise, should help uncover a lot of vulnerabilities that are just waiting to be exploited.
2. Know Your Enemy
Do some research about the kind of threats faced by you from all possible angles. Look up and find out all you can about viruses, weak passwords, ransomware, phishing, hacktivists, and accidental data loss due to exposure. Be as informed about the cyber-world as possible so that you can tackle these problems more effectively.
3. Protect your Data
Although prevention is better than cure, it’s always best to have the cure lying around when needed. Pre-empt the possible attacks or data loss you can encounter. Save your local data in an encrypted network, with an up-to-date firewall. Move your operations to Cloud Storage services that are reliable and efficient.
4. Plan B
Always make sure to carry a backup in case things do end up going south in the future. Develop a plan for your firm to boost the company’s security infrastructure and make sure there is a company-wide implementation.
5. Train Your Staff
Unless your employees and staff are not well educated about what good and bad practices are, your firm will always be one mistake away from encountering catastrophe. The safest method to protect your online activities is to follow the best practices and habits while interacting online.
6. Hardware and Software Inventory
Do an inventory check of all software and hardware being used, down to every single serial number, license numbers, records, etc. Once all of it is listed, keep updating these records upon any changes.
7. Outsource Your IT Needs
Rather than creating a department for it, you can even hire professional IT services to completely manage and operate the company’s security infrastructure. Although expensive, outsourcing often provides you with the best possible level of service and results.
