Growing Need For CyberSecurity in Law Firms: Ignorance Is Risk

As cyber-attackers continue to target firms with lucrative threats like ransomware, cybersecurity has become a top priority in the legal industry.

Law firms hold extremely important and confidential client information, from trade secrets, to patient data, to the formula for the next pharmaceutical breakthrough. Protecting client information is paramount, and it’s the firm’s responsibility to ensure there are preventative measures in place.

According to an exclusive new Texas Lawbook survey, four out of five corporate law firms operating in Texas have experienced a “cyber incident” or an actual data breach during the past two years.

Forty-two of the 49 business law firms surveyed report that they were victimized by a cyber-attack in 2017 and 2018. Thirty-one of the 49 firms, which represent companies in litigation, regulatory and transactional legal matters, say their operations suffered a “breach of law firm data” during the two-year period.

The Cost of Malware is Mounting for Law Firms

A recent study from the Ponemon Institute estimates the average cost of a successful malware attack has reached $5 million. But the reality is, most law firms have no idea what such an event might cost. Nearly three-fourths of firms have not assessed the potential cost of an internal data breach and 62% have not even estimated lost revenue.

Ponemon Institute has also pegged the cost of a breach at $141 per record. With California’s recent Consumer Privacy Act, the penalties, alone, could amount to up to $750 per record. Considering that even a small firm might have thousands of data records, it’s easy to see how the cost can escalate quickly. That’s not to mention the fact that downtime caused by malware incidents equates directly to lost productivity and revenue.

Law firms are built on reputation management. This means that firms must begin to adapt their technology to protect their data. As law firms wade into cybersecurity practice, the glaring reality is that most law firms aren’t prepared for a major breach. Hackers have realized that law firms have confidential data, they have money, and they are not prepared

Explore the top 4 cybersecurity issues facing law firms and how Techcess CyberSecurity Group can help:

1. Managing Clients Demands and Expectations: Clients expect data confidentiality. A vulnerability assessment is the first step in ensuring your systems and networks are secure from intruders who probe systems looking for weaknesses they can exploit. Techcess CyberSecurity Group can show you the importance of regular vulnerability assessments as part of your regular business best practices.
2. Acknowledge Law firms Are Targets: Half of all cyber-attacks in the United States target small businesses. Our intrusion detection platform eliminates threats, providing your organization network and infrastructure protection that keeps your information systems running as intended.
3. Phishing Attacks: Techcess uses the latest Phishing Technologies in order to phish and train your employees. We will use best-in-class, fully automated simulated phishing attacks with thousands of templates, unlimited usage and community phishing templates.
4. Take the Burden Off IT: Does your IT manager have a complete and accurate record of your business’ IT assets? Would you believe that the majority of them don’t? Let the security experts at Techcess protect your network, infrastructure, and data from the many situations that put your company at risk.

To get started protecting your business’ digital assets, call us today at 1-833-892-9237.