Law firms have access to very sensitive information. Thus, it is important to ensure that you are protecting your client data. You can’t store your client’s data in a non-digital format as it will be very inefficient. Most law firms are now using digital platforms but these platforms come with their own vulnerabilities. Law firms have become a prime target of hackers due to the nature of their data. You need to protect both your client’s information and your firm’s reputation. Your business is ultimately built on data from cases, contracts, and clients.

Many law firms think that they are very small and hackers won’t attack them. However, cybersecurity is also a major challenge for small law firms. Hackers already know that small law firms don’t have access to good IT security. Thus, they mostly target small law firms for making some quick bucks. Small and medium-sized firms have access to a limited IT budget but still, they need to deal with the same security challenges. It is very difficult for small firms to hire an IT security team. In this article, we are going to share some simple tips that will help you in protecting your client’s data.

Employee Training

The best way to avoid cyberattacks is by training your employees. Most attackers are still using phishing attacks for targeting small and medium-sized firms. Your employees should know about how to spot these phishing emails. You should try to create a cyber-consciousness culture in your law firm. There are various courses that you can give to your employees. Your IT department can also help you in training your employees. If you don’t have access to an IT department, then you should work with an MSSP. They will help you in training your employees.

Guard your resources

Make sure that you are following zero-trust architecture. You should allow minimum access to your employees and workers. If you have too many privileged users in your network, then your data will be vulnerable to data breaches. The best method to avoid data breaches is by following zero-trust policy. Your new employees should be assigned with minimum privilege in starting. Make sure that they can only access the data that they actually need. This will help you in protecting your data from insider threats. If your employees need access to more data, then you can easily increase the privilege. Also, you can revoke the privilege if your employees have left your company.

Email Security

Make sure that you are encrypting your employee emails. This can be easily done if you are using a properly secured email account. If your attorneys are using free email platforms like Gmail, then your data can easily get stolen. You must ensure that your employees are following strict security regulations while communicating. You should also delete your emails after some time. It is important to set up an automated email retention policy. This will help you in automatically deleting your old emails. The best method to decrease security risks is by ensuring that less information is available on the internet.

Be Careful with Mobility and BYOD policy

Most people are using small equipment like laptops and USBs for doing their work. You should consider using a VDI or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for protecting your client’s data. This will ensure that your employees can’t save your data on their local devices. All the data will be stored on a VDI server which you can access. If your employee’s laptop is stolen, then the thief can’t access the data stored in VDI without providing a proper password. You can also remove the access from the VDI.

Your employees should never email your files to a third party. You should disable all the USB ports on your system. This will ensure that your employees can’t copy your data into their flash drive. If you want to transfer your files, then you should use an encrypted FTP site. Also, make sure that online storage services like Dropbox are also disabled.

Response Plan

Your firm should have its own incident response plan. It will help you in limiting the damage caused by a data breach. Also, it will reduce recovery costs and time. You should give important duties to some of your employees. They will help you in recovering from a data breach. Your team should know about their roles and responsibilities during a data breach. You should also practice this plan regularly. This will ensure that you will have control over the situation. You can also avoid a disastrous situation by following this plan.

Hire an MSSP

This is the best option for law firms. Most law firms don’t have access to an IT department. Thus, they should consider hiring an MSSP or Managed Security Services Provider. This will help you in ramping up your cyber strategy. If you are hiring an MSSP, then you don’t need to worry about cyber threats. Your MSSP will help you in handling these cyberthreats. This will ensure that you can focus on other important tasks. They will take the burden of maintaining your cyber-security program. Experienced MSSPs like Bleuwire will ensure that you are following all the security regulations. This will help you in avoiding unnecessary fines and penalties. If you don’t have access to a good IT security team, then this is the best option for you. Most law firms have a small IT budget. Thus, they don’t have enough money to hire security professionals.

Conclusion

If you are running a law firm, then you should give the top-most priority to your IT security. You are handling sensitive data that you need to protect from attackers. Most law firms don’t have access to a good IT team. Thus, they should consider working with an MSSP. Your MSSP will help you in protecting your firm from attacks. They will combine both human expertise and machine learning for protecting your network. Your partner can monitor your IT network in real-time. They will regularly check your IT network for vulnerabilities and bugs. If you need more information regarding IT security, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.