Cybersecurity Risks in the Legal Industry

Privacy is one of the most important aspects of the legal industry. The trust you have built with your clients, while handling their sensitive personal information can be tarnished by just one cybersecurity breach.

Because the legal industry deals with sensitive information like confidential communications, intellectual property, or private documents, it is vulnerable to cyber attacks. And since any breach of data security can be devastating, we’re taking a look at what you can do to protect yourself and your firm.

Cybersecurity Risks for Law Firms

Cyber Hacking

Your law firm depends on digital communication. Whether it’s through emails or online filing systems, your company regularly shares information outside of the organization. And with the degree of confidentiality present in these documents, there is a very real opportunity for hackers to infiltrate. One technique hackers use is called phishing, whereby scam links, disguised as legitimate communications, are sent to your staff. If someone on your team clicks the link, hackers can get total access in an instant.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

A DDoS attack occurs when a law firm’s servers are overloaded, in a concentrated and carefully orchestrated action that can result in computer systems crashing for extended periods. This form of attack not only causes disruption in your productivity, but can lead to severe delays when servicing your clients — which delegitimizes your reputation. A DDoS attack can come from any number of sources, such as online activist groups or international cyberterrorists.

Ransomware

In the case of ransomware, a law firm’s most sensitive documents are stolen and encrypted, barring access until a cash settlement is paid. The problem is, there is no way to ensure that once the hackers receive payment, that they will restore your access. In fact, recent studies have come out revealing that up to one-fifth of companies who paid these ransoms never get access to their data again!

What Law Firms Can Do

Hire Cybersecurity Consultants

Though it might seem like an unnecessary expense, hiring an internal cybersecurity expert or working with a private security team is crucial to maintaining the safety of your most important data — and thus the safety of your business as a whole. The threat is too real, and the risk too great, to ignore this problem until it happens.

Conduct Regular Internal Audits

The constantly evolving nature of cyber attacks require an equally evolving response. You’ll want to conduct regular internal audits on the state of your cybersecurity, answering questions such as:

Does your firm have access to all of the employees with access to sensitive information?
What cybersecurity software does your company have in place?
Do you have a data governance plan set up?

Questions like these will help assess your risk, and keep your information safe in the long run.

Choose a Secure eSignature Platform

In today’s ever-more digitized world, law firms need to go paperless, for better efficiency and productivity. But not all eSignature platforms are created equal. That’s why we created OP.Sign, the most trusted name in paperless cybersecurity. Our easy-to-use app allows your law firm to safely and securely scan, send, sign and receive your most important documents. As creators of the first antivirus software for mobile devices, we are pioneers of cybersecurity, and take extensive steps to ensure that our customers' information is protected, encrypted and secure. To learn more, visit op.today, or download our app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Remember, the only way to protect your law firm is to take the threat of an impending cyber attack very, very seriously. The fate of your business might just depend on it.