The IT engineers and cyber security specialists at legal firms are under increased pressure to ensure that their business is protected from any possible cyber malfunctions due to the quick change in working techniques.

Law firms have become a primary target of cyber-attacks because clients give them a large amount of private and confidential information. According to a certain Cybersecurity Tech Report, you don’t want your precious legal firm to be one of the many businesses that suffered a security breach.

However, specialists predict that this epidemic will continue for a significant time. As a result, law firms must create a work environment that prioritizes client satisfaction, security, and well-being. The way law firms appear, function, and offer commodities and services will experience the ‘new normal’ as legal practitioners return to the legal industry.

Practical ways for employees to keep data safe from Cyber-attacks when working remotely:

All of us have made our peace with the ‘new normal,’ but some things are non-negotiable. One such thing is the client’s sensitive information. Clients trust lawyers with this information. Getting this data into the wrong data can ruin the client’s and the firm’s reputation.

After the pandemic, many companies, including law firms, have introduced a hybrid work model or work from home. In the hybrid model, employees can decide when to work from home and when to come to the office. While these adjustments have benefits, they need to pay extra attention to the data they have.

Let’s explore some practical ways law firms with remote work models can ensure they keep their data safe from cyber-attacks.

1. Encouraging remote-work security

Firms must examine their privacy policies to determine whether there are any set security standards for remote work. Right now is an excellent opportunity to keep in place some fundamental rules to handle remote access to the company’s information management and the utilization by the staff of personal phones for company business.

Law firms should examine plans to make sure that organizations are ready to respond to unauthorized access or security incident. Managers must ensure that relevant security standards, plans, and regulations cascade to their employees.

Establish guidelines, procedures, and standards for your personnel if working remotely is a new practice for your business. Ensure all your remote employees keep their VPN networks and personal devices secured and free from viruses. Create a security team and have them do regular checks on all servers and personal devices.

2. Secure Network

One of the perks of the remote-work model is that people can work from anywhere. They may take their laptop and smartphone and take work calls while sipping hot coffee in a nearby Starbucks, logging in from their WI-Fi. When it comes to data security, this is highly encouraged by IT and security experts. They believe that since public Wi-Fi s are not secured, they may make the data breach a piece of cake. All law firm employees must log in from their personal devices using a VPN. They also need to make sure it is end-to-end encrypted. To link distant employees to the company’s intranet, always utilize a VPN.

By doing this, vicious guy-in-the-middle attacks are avoided. As more individuals use WFH model work, keep in mind that more traffic travels across open networks.

Employers are encouraged first to ascertain who among the team requires access to the whole corporate network of the firm and who might only require access to email and cloud-based services.

When using cloud services or complete web access, an multifactor authentication system should be used since it ensures that only personnel has access.

3. Safe from Third Party

Inadequate data handling procedures or potential third-party vulnerabilities resulting from hurried development are the most common dangers in cybersecurity risk evaluation and security audits. It’s also typical to find “loose ends”—technology deployed and installed by third parties without a surveillance system. Here are some actions you can propose:

Perform a standardized security threat assessment on everybody managing your data, and check the sites of cloud services and application suppliers for security certifications.

Set guidelines for the ownership of data security programs and policies by third parties. Ensure all your employees take these security assessments seriously and cooperate with the IT and security experts.

4. Be transparent with your expectations from clients and staff

When introducing a work-from-home or hybrid model to your employees and clients, you must be transparent and honest about your expectations. Communication is key when it comes to business. You can expect people to assume your intentions and expectations when you do not communicate them. Tell your employees the changes that will be made and how they can adapt to them without compromising the quality of work they provide. Similarly, communicate with your clients the new ways the meetings will be conducted.

For instance, the new remote work model will replace most in-person meetings with video calls. Inform them about such changes and also inform them about the potential risk of not using VPN networks. They will be more alert this way and make advanced preparations. This cooperation will lessen the risk of any potential cyber threats in the long run.

Apart from informing your clients and employees about the transition, sit and discuss the reason behind the new work model. Only some people embrace change instantly. You need to explain them with proper explanation and logic.

The Last Lines!

Cybersecurity is a real threat that is keeping law firms on edge. The steps mentioned above can ensure your client’s sensitive information is secure. Be vigilant and stern with your approach toward cyber threats. For IT-related services for your law firm, reach out to Q-tech and watch your law business flourish without any threats.