How To Improve The Cyber Security Of A Law Firm

It is not surprising to see that cyber criminals often attack law firms. This is due to the client information available for them. So much intellectual property, proprietary data, and confidential data means hackers could use it for countless reasons.

Take into account the fact that around 30% of law firms experience cyber attacks. And this number is constantly growing. Even so, just around 35% of the law firms have some sort of incident response plan. This is why you should seriously consider the following tips from an experienced workers compensation attorney who had to deal with cyber attacks in the past.

Strengthen Your Passwords And Utilize Multi-Factor Authentication

One of the simplest and fastest things you could do is to use very complex passwords. This is true for absolutely all the services you use that require authentication. To keep things simple, your passwords should include lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and some keyboard symbols. Unfortunately, most people today use passwords that are really easy to guess. And they are used for many accounts, which means the hacker only needs one.

Never choose convenience over the much important security. And use MFA (multi-factor authentication). As this is enabled, it is much more difficult for the hacker to gain access to your private data.

Always Back Up Critical Data

There are several types of attacks that the law firm can be faced with, like ransomware or website hacking. In all cases, data can end up being lost. This would create huge problems for the law firm. Just think about having the details of all your cases lost simply because of a hack. It can even happen because of technology failing, like a hard disk crash. This is why it is so important to have a backup in place.

Store all sensitive data on external drives or in a location that is completely secured and not connected to the internet. Automated backup services or cloud-based backups are also a possibility, as long as handled by professional cyber security companies.

Regularly Update Software

If your software is not regularly updated and patched, there is always the possibility that someone will hack it. Security patches are very important because they solve vulnerabilities. Basically, the developer identifies ways in which their software can be hacked. Then, those vulnerabilities are fixed through a patch. Most data breaches are due to unpatched vulnerabilities.

Use VPNs

Last but not least, the virtual private network (VPN) offers a great deal of security as you no longer have to worry about the vulnerabilities of any internet network. It is particularly useful when you travel a lot and you have to use several unsecured WiFi networks. The VPN will hide your location and the details of your computer. This makes it very hard for the hacker to access your sensitive information. To keep it simple, you should always use VPNs when:

• You use public WiFi
• You utilize the network of your law firm from a remote location
• You travel
• You need internet privacy