What Are The Cybersecurity Concerns Facing Small Law Offices In 2019?
Cybersecurity has never been more important to law firms. After all, you deal with clients’ sensitive personal and financial information as well as details of their legal cases that those who mean them harm would love to learn about. The problem is that most lawyers are not IT experts. Sure, you’re great in a courtroom or negotiating a settlement on behalf of your client, but few good attorneys have the expertise or the time and energy at the end of the day to make sure that their computer files are impervious to increasingly savvy cybercriminals. That’s why having an IT partner like Parkway Tech is so important.
Cybersecurity concerns facing small law offices in 2019
Keeping your computer files safe is an ongoing process; it’s not something that you do once and then moves on to the next task. But, how much attention to cybersecurity is enough to be deemed a reasonable effort? It might be useful to see what other small firms are doing. According to a recent study by the American Bar Association (ABA).
- 75% are using some anti-virus software.
- 58% of responding firms are using some firewall or anti-phishing software.
- 33% are using email encryption software.
- 25% are using device encryption software.
- 17% have some directory security in place.
- 25% have an employee training program involving cybersecurity.
Some firms, particularly those who use Macintosh computers, admitted to not using any measures to protect their digital files. Of those that did spend resources last year to beef up their cybersecurity, the majority (55%) said they did so to meet their fiduciary responsibilities.
Things to consider when developing a cybersecurity protocol
- Vendor security. According to the American Bar Association, one of the top vulnerable places for law firms is the cybersecurity of their vendors. They see firms “increasingly writing language into contracts that require suppliers and vendors to take minimum specific measures to protect data.” This is in response to some massive industry hacks that have been linked to poor cybersecurity in supplier with links into the attacked company. That’s where a good IT partner like Park
- Email security. Email correspondence continues to be an Achilles heel for most law firms. An entry-level staff member opening an attachment with a virus or other malicious code can potentially infect the entire firm’s database. Interestingly, while 75 percent of respondents in the ABA survey viewed emails as a potential threat, only 58 percent have a program in place to protect against such a threat.
What you can do to beef up your firm’s cybersecurity
The ABA ranked the average small law firms cybersecurity procedures, and protocols are at 3.5 out of 10. More effort is needed in this area to protect your sensitive data adequately. It’s not overly dramatic to say that a data breach could threaten the very existence of your firm.
No lawyer should be expected to be an IT expert. You have clients and employees to concentrate on, not to mention spending time with your family. That’s where a good IT partner like Parkway Tech can be invaluable. We are more than just computer technicians; we are IT professionals who know and understand the unique security concerns of law firms. Cybercriminals are always upping their game and developing new ways to compromise your data. You need a diligent company that can match this challenge and stop such threats before they even develop.
At Parkway Tech, we take a somewhat different approach to IT solutions. We understand that every law firm is unique. That’s why we begin by getting to know you, your firm and your hope and dreams for the future. We don’t recommend any product or course of action until we’ve taken the time to learn about your specific needs. We feel one of our strengths is our relationship-driven approach to IT solutions.
We’ll help you develop a cybersecurity package that is virtually impenetrable to hackers. We’ll include not just your office computers, but also your mobile devices, your cloud apps and storage, and your contracts with those potentially vulnerable third-party vendors. We understand that leaving anyone spot vulnerable puts your entire system at risk.
About Parkway Tech (Your Legal IT Services Team)
Located in Winston-Salem, Parkway Tech has been helping small and medium-size law firms with their IT needs, including cybersecurity, since 2008. We pride ourselves on our friendly, responsive customer service. We’re so confident that you’ll be thrilled with our service, we offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. That means you can “test drive” our services for more than a month and get all of your money back (cheerfully) if you aren’t satisfied with our team and our services. Not many other IT specialists make that offer.
To learn more about how Parkway Tech can help free up your time as well as help your law office keep your data secure, meet your fiduciary responsibility to your clients and stop worrying about cyber threats, visit parkwaytech.com or contact us at (336) 310-9888.
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