On February 29th, 2024, it was reported that a renowned law firm specializing in high-profile financial institutions, had suffered a breach affecting more than 325,000 individuals, revealing their clients’ Social Security, driver’s license, and individual tax identification numbers; as well as their financial and medical information.
A breach of this magnitude can have many disastrous outcomes for any organization, as explained in our previous blog post (include link to first post). However, unlike other industries, law firms have a vast amount of highly personal information in their system, and therefore should prioritize protecting it. To achieve the level of protection that will make clients comfortable with giving their personal information, here is a list of five actions every law firm must implement.
- Develop an Employee Training and Awareness Plan. As the CFO or COO, you definitely understand the risk your clients are exposed to when providing you with sensitive information. However, is everyone at the firm aware of the consequences of a potential breach? As soon as a new employee joins the firm, they should be trained on how to manage client information in a safe and secure manner.
- Access Controls. Law firms have a database with every client’s information. However, it is never the case where employees need everyone’s information at the same time. For this reason, it is recommended that you limit access to sensitive information on a need-to-know basis.
- Passwords and Other Barriers to Entry. Our lives now depend on passwords. Accessing a client’s Tax Identification number is not the same as accessing your Apple Store account. Therefore, always use a completely unique password to access the law firm’s database, and never store that password in the “cloud.” In addition, passwords are safe, but once one gets through that barrier, they are free to roam around. For this reason, the more barriers, the better. Implementing a multi-factor authentication will ensure that only accessed personnel can access sensitive data.
- Data Encryption. In today’s world, every form of communication may contain sensitive data. That includes emails, phone calls, and any sort of document. Strong encryption protocols add an extra layer of protection, making personal data much harder to access, even if hackers have managed to breach through other security measures.
- Revise, Revise, and Revise. The world of technology advances much more rapidly than what most of us think. Hackers are constantly developing new methods to bypass security, and companies must be equally as intense in implementing more and more protective measures. One cannot establish a security plan and expect it to work in perpetuity. Rather, law firms must always use the latest technology to protect themselves and their clients.
And yes, it is evident that this list seems a lot for a small or medium size law firm to control by themselves. Instead of investing in personnel, software, and the many other costs associated with cybersecurity, law firms can explore the possibility of outsourcing their IT to the several talented companies in their area, who already have experience in working with law firms, and who will provide your company with the latest technology.
Law firms are very attractive to hackers. But law firms become very unattractive when they get hacked. Do not let your law firm be a victim.