International Computer Security Day

Today is International Computer Security Day. It began 30 years ago, and its importance has become increasingly paramount due to computer technology advancing constantly. The timing of this “holiday” is appropriate with this week’s Marriott database hack of over 500 million guests.

The day acts as a great reminder to perform an audit of your computer’s security at least once a year. With hackers becoming smarter by the day, one can never be too cautious. This is especially true for law firms, which hold all their clients’ private information.

To celebrate International Computer Security Day, we’re helping protect legal professionals’ software. Here is a helpful list of some of our best tips from previous blogs that can help legal professionals with the protection of their technology.

The Basics

Let’s start with the basics of having better passwords, or, even better, using multi-factor authentication. As annoying as it is to continuously come up with new passwords for several logins, it’s necessary to keep your data secure. A hack into one system could mean a hack into all of them.

If your firm implements a plan for better passwords, it should consider getting employees authentication in a second way. Just like you need your bank card and a password to access your money, you should need two factors to access your client’s data so that no outsiders can.

An example of what firms can do is have staff log in using a username and password After which, they receive a text message with another code to enter. This is an easy way to make sure the right person is accessing the appropriate information.

Ongoing Training

Even with the best law firm data security measures in place, breaches can still occur. It’s essential to get everyone in the office onboard and trained on the security measures. This is especially important when introducing new legal technology to your firm.

Ongoing training is critical for every person in the firm – securing data is not just for IT service professionals.

Having regular seminars about malware, phishing attacks, and avoiding computer viruses can only do your firm good.

Another way to keep your firm’s staff on their toes when it comes to recognizing cyber threats is testing them. This can include sending fake emails to see if they click on suspicious links. If the results show too many employees didn’t follow protocol, it’s time for more training.

Be Prepared

As the adage goes: “The best offense is a good defense.”

Be completely prepared with a response plan if your system is hacked. If there’s a breach and your firm doesn’t have a plan in place already, it’s often too late to fix the damage.

If your firm has its own IT department, they have the resources and knowledge to set up a response plan. However, if your firm uses a third-party IT services team, it’s a good idea to assign a senior-level firm employee to run a technology committee. They can be the IT team’s regular points-of-contact, so that someone in the firm always knows what to do during any breaches.

Conclusion

Remaining vigilant with your firm’s data security is not only crucial for your current clients but is also a great way of bringing in new clients. Staying up-to-date on the latest technology and security processes is part of what it means to run a successful law firm these days, yet too many lawyers don’t consider this a priority.

Don’t be the next firm to get locked out of their files due to a hacking. Read about protecting law firm data or contact our Managed IT Services team to find out how they can help your firm stay secure.