The public nature of the legal system makes law firms particularly vulnerable to a growing number of cybersecurity risks.
Law firms have unique access to highly confidential client information and as a result, face a growing number of federal, regional and industry data protection and privacy requirements.
On this episode of the Insider Series, I sat down with Mark Sangster, cybersecurity strategist and author of No Safe Harbor: The Inside Truth of Cybercrime and How to Protect Your Business to explore what's changed in the legal industry, and how law firms of all sizes can bolster their cybersecurity strategy.
Five years ago, law firms had no idea about cybersecurity, because they didn't really see themselves as 'at risk'.
In recent years, we've seen some marquee breaches where law firms have been shut down, or they or their clients exposed as a result.
That model means money spent on anything comes out of their pockets at the end of the year, creating an uphill battle for security firms to get the kind of funds that they need to protect the law firm.
Many smaller firms struggle with knowing where or how to start implementing security measures.
Firms tend to go back to square one or they take a fatalistic stance in thinking, if it's going to happen, I've got backups and I have cyber insurance.
Smaller firms need to think of it in terms of aligning their spend to their firm's risk.
Many firms get a policy, and everyone just sits back and says, OK, we're good.
Many firms don't realize that now, they find themselves in a position where they're not insurable.
Firms look at it like - they've got antivirus and firewalls in place, but it isn't stopping attacks, which is true.
What they don't quite realize is that when attacks against law firms happen, they don't appear out of nowhere.
In terms of awareness, it's still a process of educating firms to look at the points of entry that exist based on the data the firm has and the systems it uses.
MS: Law firms actually have an unparalleled risk in the economy and that's because they operate at a crossroads.
Firms don't necessarily really recognize that, which is why we are seeing a bit of a downdraft from specific types of clients who are beholden to industry standards and regulations in how sensitive data is managed.
Law firms have infinite amounts of valuable data, like financial information and personally identifiable information.
The big challenge that law firms have is that they have an inherent nature to be open.
Law firms are migrating document management, moving from physical libraries and vaults into digital systems.
At the end of the day, all law firms need to see themselves as a target.
This Cyber News was published on securityboulevard.com. Publication date: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:43:05 +0000