Common (Avoidable) Mistakes Law Firms Make that Threaten Security of Client Data

law firm security | legal document management software | optiable

Imagine it’s a normal Tuesday morning.

You leave the house and hit the road to go to your firm.

There are some motions your team needs to respond to, and it already seems like it’s been a long week…

When you step into the lobby of your building, you see your colleagues rushing around, frantically punching their phones…

You wonder what’s happening when you see this sign:

ATTENTION DLA EMPLOYEES –

All network services are down. DO NOT turn on your computers! Please remove all laptops from docking stations & keep turned off.

No Exceptions

Law Firm Security - Legal Document Management Consultant | Optiable

This is the sign that faced employees of behemoth law firm DLA Piper one June morning at their Washington, D.C. office.

What the world found out later was that DLA Piper had been attacked with “wiperware,” which locked Piper’s files and data, threatening to delete it all unless a ransom was paid.

The attack shook the legal community.

Is Your Firm Prepared?

If you’re like most attorneys, you see yourself as someone who protects your clients—shielding them from dangers that impact their lives and businesses.

But for many law firms, they are a big risk to their clients due to insufficient data security.

Ransomware is big business, and law firms are increasingly being attacked. Consider the privileged information that’s passed around each law firm…

Trade Secrets

Partnership Agreements

Insider Information

Settlements

Mergers

The list goes on…

You can understand why some of the biggest law firms in the world have been hit by cyber attacks…

… they’re big, juicy targets.

Here are some high-profile examples:

11.5 million files,

2.6 terabytes of data

— leaked from Mossack
Fonseca in 2016

DLA Piper attacked with “wiperware”

which locked all its data, and held it ransom or risk total deletion

Cravath/Weil (among others) was hacked in 2016

in an insider trading scheme

The scary thing is, 40% of law firms don’t even know they were breached.

But big firms aren’t the only targets…

Small Firms Are Least Prepared to Deal With Hackers and Data Loss

According to the ABA:

20.5

of firms with 10-49 lawyers have hardened cybersecurity &

&

5

of solo practices have adequate cybersecurity in place

What does this mean for the bad guys?

Smaller firms are easier targets.

Click here to learn how to protect your firm

How Does Data Get Breached?

There are two main ways a firm’s data is breached…

1. Malicious Actors

(aka, the bad guys)

Sometimes data is stolen as part of a coordinated attack, where hackers exploit gaps in the firm’s security to hold their data ransom, disseminate it, or quietly steal information over time.

2. Oblivious Employees

Unfortunately, the most common way data leaks from most organizations is through their employees. Most of the time it’s not malicious, but the effects are just as bad.

– Stolen laptops
– Missing smartphones
– Lost thumb-drives
– Careless use of Google Drive or Dropbox
– Sensitive info emailed without encryption

Thankfully, Preventing Damage To Your Firm and Clients Via Data Loss Is Completely Preventable

Keeping the wrong people from accessing your firm’s data can be as simple as using a Document Management System (DMS)… if you go about it the right way.

A good DMS setup can save your firm from the horror of not being able to access your data, email, and networks as happened to DLA Piper… and the reputation damage that would follow.

This is why I wrote the whitepaper “Common Mistakes Law Firms Make that Threaten Security of Client Data”.

Inside this whitepaper you’ll discover…

The three biggest security threats to your firm. You can guess the first two, but the third may surprise you.
Why every firm needs to be focused on their data security… even solo practitioners.
The easy targets most firms don’t think about (and how to lock them down for good).
Why using Google Drive and Dropbox for DMS is a terrible way to go.
The exact list of steps to take to put your firm’s documents inside a virtual Fort Knox.
And much more…