Cybersecurity threats abound for most any type of business, but law firms often prove an especially tasty target for hackers and scam artists. Those looking to make a quick buck choose targets like law firms due to their treasure trove of confidential data — both their own and that of their clients. Additionally, many law firms represent clients victimized by similar criminals, so data breaches increase the possibility of lost confidence in their abilities to deal with similar situations in their own business. In fact, some even suggest that data loss incurred via law firms could possibly violate their ethical and professional obligations to their clients. For these reasons, focusing on cybersecurity makes sense for law firms looking to close any holes and prevent future data leaks.
Back Up Your Law Firm's Data Regularly
Law firms require lots of personal information from clients, making regular data backups essential for day-to-day operation. Having a physical or cloud computing storage option on hand lets you quickly update your backup files as you go, and with physical or remote copies on hand, you can still access the data you need, even if your law firm is the victim of a ransomware attack that freezes files until you pay off the hackers.
Secure physical data storage devices include encrypted flash drives and external hard drives so you always know where your data is, while cloud computing options with two-factor authentication provide an effortless way to securely save information online. Likewise, having someone in charge of a disaster recovery plan, such as a professional IT firm like Haycor Computer Solutions, helps your Toronto area business bounce back into action quickly should a data breach occur.
Provide Employees with Cybersecurity Education
Employees are the front line for data protection at your law firm, so they need cybersecurity education to prepare them for and help them ward off potential data breaches. For instance, when staff knows what to look for in their email, they're far less likely to fall for spear phishing scams designed to steal passwords. These types of scams rely on email recipients thinking they're emails from legitimate companies with which they or your law firm does business. They typically have log-in links within the emails that let hackers harvest usernames and passwords, which can seriously undermine your law firm's data security.
Other potential areas for data breaches include weak passwords. Staff should always choose unique passwords that contain a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters, and they should be at least nine characters long for maximum security. Other areas of concern include staff unintentionally providing vendors and visitors with full network access while at your office, employees downloading files from compromised sources such as emails and failure of responsible workers to update frequently used software, which could leave an opening for hackers to enter your system.
Utilize Reliable IT Services and Support
A great way to mitigate potential cybersecurity threats is utilizing a reliable IT service for data support. While larger law firms in the Toronto and Greater Toronto Area (GTA) may have the means to hire a full-time IT staff to focus on cybersecurity, smaller firms typically don't have those types of resources. IT professionals like those at Haycor Computer Solutions work hard so you don't have to, setting up security operations that inspect all the traffic on your law firm's network, assign it a risk level, stop threats before they gain entrance and fix any damage rogue elements may cause in the process. Additionally, IT services help immensely with disaster recovery and crisis mitigation should the unthinkable happen and your law firm experience a data breach.
No matter the size of your Toronto or GTA practice, Haycor Computer Solutions can help with law firm cybersecurity solutions that provide added peace of mind. Contact us with concerns and questions and we can work up a solid plan that addresses the potential issues you face when protecting your confidential data.
