Common (Avoidable) Mistakes Law Firms Make that Threaten Security of Client Data
Common (Avoidable) Mistakes Law Firms Make that Threaten Security of Client Data
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*
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*
This is the sign that faced employees of behemoth law firm DLA Piper last June 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:
— leaked from Mossack Fonseca in 2016
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:
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What does this mean for the bad guys?
Smaller firms are easier targets.
How Does Data Get Breached?
There are two main ways a firm’s data is breached…
1. Malicious Actors
(aka, the bad guys)
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
1. Malicious Actors
(aka, the bad guys)
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…
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…
If you’re not sure that your data is safe…
If you’re not certain you could get your data back if you were hit with ransomware…
… this is a guide you’ll want to pay attention to.
Click below to discover how to protect your firm (and your clients)…
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