Cybersecurity issues are a concern for all industries. The news frequently reports about breaches involving payment cards and healthcare information. However, legal professionals are far from immune to the dangers that come with cybersecurity. Lawyers are a common target for ransomware attacks because they handle sensitive customer information and frequently run solo or small practices. Law firms of all sizes now place a high focus on implementing best practices for law firm cybersecurity. We cited some examples below to help you secure your firm.
- Make an inventory of the data and software systems, allocate ownership, and classify the risks; the more sensitive the information, the more stringent the security safeguards and access controls must be. Control employee access to sensitive and private information strictly. Employees should only have the access necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of their specific roles.
- Your internet connection should not only be stable, but it also needs to be secured. Know who has access to it, who can change the password, or only allow company assets to connect to it. One of your priorities is to make sure that you are safe within your perimeter. You might come across a setting to let visitors access your LAN, local network, or intranet when setting up your guest network. To prevent your visitors from accessing office systems that are hardwired directly to the router, make sure you disable LAN access.
- By using a reputable password manager tool, like 1Password or Keychain on Mac OS, you can dramatically strengthen your passwords. A password manager offers a secure way to store and find all of your passwords and only requires you to remember a single, master passphrase to obtain access. Simple password managers encrypt passwords on your hard drive and operate with a single machine. However, more advanced versions enable you to share your passwords across numerous computers and devices, including smartphones and tablets.
- Data security and danger of security breaches are both decreased with multi-factor authentication (MFA). In the past, it appeared secure enough to only allow access to accounts with a static username and password. You can implement the following in your office:
- The need for the user’s fingerprint;
- Mandating that the user insert a token or smart card into the machine;
- Sending a One-Time Password (OTP), often known as a code or push notification, to the user’s phone; or
- Client Authentication, often known as user identity verification, involves employing a digital certificate.
- There are several advantages to software updates. The key is revisions. These could include patching up security flaws that have been identified as well as eliminating or resolving computer faults. Your devices may receive updates that bring new features or remove outmoded ones. Make sure your operating system is running the most recent version while you’re at it.
- A firewall examines the communications leaving or entering your PC and decides whether to permit them to proceed or to stop them. Firewalls can stop malware from spreading from one computer to another and stop intruders from accessing your computer and data. The best way to protect yourself from these dangers is to always keep your software updated. Updates and security patches for a cloud-based practice management solution will be installed automatically with little to no impact on how your business operates.
Data security is a significant issue now more than it has ever been. It is hardly unexpected that legal firms have become popular targets for hackers given that they usually have access to their clients’ most private and sensitive information. Notes above will truly help you ensure that you have adequate data protection. Intelecis can walk you through in implementing this. Talk to us today.
