Why Is Cybersecurity Important for Law Firms? 5 Facts You Need to Know
Even in a small law firm you’ll have thousands of pieces of highly sensitive data. Your job will rely on this information. But what would happen if...
2 min read
Mindy Gallagher : Sep 20, 2021 12:00:00 AM
Did you know the U.S. loses $100 billion to cyberattacks every year? The U.S. Navy alone gets over 100000 per hour.
Cybercrimes are very common everywhere and large corporations and businesses with sensitive information are the main targets. Keep reading and we will guide you through the importance of cybersecurity for law firms.
No matter what type of industry you're in or how big or small your business is no one is safe from cyber-attacks. There are a lot of cybersecurity threats to law firms.
This is because law firms have a lot of confidential data from their clients. Also in this current time a lot of people are working remotely and not on a secure network in the office.
It can be very expensive if any client's information is leaked and can hurt credibility as a firm. Clients want their lawyers to meet high standards for data security.
Did you know that 84% of law firms increased their IT budget to prevent cyberattacks in the last year? The pandemic brought a 500% increase in cybercrimes according to the FBI and an increase in remote work.
Increasing your IT budget will seem like a small price in comparison to having to pay a hacker to not sell sensitive information or break one of your file transfer systems.
If your client's data is stolen you also might have to pay reparations to them and for breaking any state or federal laws having to do with data protection.
You should invest in your law firm cybersecurity through your IT team and creating a secure VPN system for your employees to work on when they're remote.
Alura can help with all of your IT solution needs. They can help manage your IT system or co-manage if you have an internal team.
They are there to help guide you through cybersecurity and what you need to put in place as preventive action.
You should also have processes in place if there is a cyberattack and make sure your employees are trained on how to keep your data secure and who they need to notify if they get a suspicious email or attachment.
As a law firm you collect a lot of private information from clients including personal and financial. You have a legal obligation to have certain practices in place to make sure your firm is under regulatory compliance.
The types of security issues that can occur with your client's information including identity theft and stealing a client's financial information and either using it or selling it.
Not only are you under a legal obligation to protect this information but you will also lose credibility as a law firm if something happens to your client's data. You want your clients to trust you throughout the whole process including having any personal or financial information of theirs.
Now that you understand the importance of cybersecurity for law firms you are ready to assess your firm and make sure you have an IT team and processes in place if you face a data breach.
You need to take preventive action whether you hire outside consultants or have any internal team you want to do everything you can to avoid an expensive breach.
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