The legal service providers need to handle a large volume of client information that is sensitive. Some of this information may reach out to international locations depending on the size of the firm or the staff. Quite naturally, the law services have become a hot target for hackers. The cyber attacks against them have gone up during the last few years and if everything happening today is to be believed, things are going to take a bad shape during the coming years. Some of these services are not even aware of the dangers and causing more harm to the security aspects, but the ones who have faced the trouble once are using more sophisticated techniques to handle the situation. While the battle is not going to end very soon, the companies offering legal services must become more cautious of the threats. Here are a few more things that the corporate law firms in India need to know about cybercriminals and shop for better solutions as quickly as possible.
Targeting the legal services
Have you ever wondered why the cyber attackers are targeting the lawyer websites? One of the primary reasons that the firms offering these services store a huge amount of significant and valuable data, but do not take adequate steps to protect the information. The second reason is that hackers can steal data more easily from the company as it is less in volume when compared with the storage base of the clients.
Assessing the inventory and the risks
The corporate lawyers in India must take stock of the data, hardware and the software in the beginning. It is good to develop a comprehensive inventory of their belongings such as computers, printers, servers and smart devices. If you own a firm, you have to prepare a list with serial numbers and the location of the devices or whoever in the company possess those devices. The next step is to ready the catalog of the software along with the passwords, versions, and the licenses. Apart from this, you have to stay on track with all the online services the company offers. The last stage is to figure out the data, the locations where it is stored, the person responsible for creating the data and the people within the company using the data. Do not overlook whether the data is subject to regulations and legalities.
Evaluation of the security system
When it comes to the evaluation of the security systems in your company, the lawyers need to get the answers of a few questions at first. Does every employee of the firm have access to the systems or they are provided according to the need? Have you encrypted the passwords and the smart devices? Do you have the record of the passwords in a separate location? Several companies dealing with the business of law follow the two-step authentication system for enhancing security. Do you also follow the two-step system? Try to find out whether the anti-virus software and the firewalls are positioned correctly and functioning properly? When you get satisfactory answers to these questions, you can stay ahead of the security breaches that are otherwise hard to prevent.
Basic security tool and vendor’s security
Using the spam filter is one of the commonest security tools and to prevent your firm from being attacked. Using firewalls that are based on software, anti-spyware, the antivirus programs separately for laptops, desktops, emails, and the networks can also provide relief. In addition to this, you can also install prevention and intrusion detection systems. Furthermore, you have to check the security certificate of the vendor as well to ensure they offer better security systems for the law offices in India to protect the client data. While you have to defend your own systems, you have to make sure that anyone within the organization with access to the same data is well defended with the necessary protocols and the policies.
Staff training and security standards
Several firms for lawyers are moving towards better solutions and security standards, so make sure you are also moving in the same direction to protect your systems from the cyber threats. The services with fewer policies and lack of trained staff are more likely to face the dangers imposed by the hackers. Not only should you have a proper policy for your firm, but the staff and the lawyers must also receive training on them. The employees must have knowledge of the obstacles that may result in cyber-attacks and must be adept to identify the red flags. Make sure that the breach of security in the service is not created due to a mistake of the staff while handling emails .
Backup and handling data
You have to protect the files when they are stored as well as during transportation. Using encrypted file sharing and email service to exchange information is essential. With the encrypted system, you can zip the files and add a password to it. During a fire or weather hazard, the chances of cyber attacks are going to increase, so try to invest in a good backup system and determine how often you would want it to back up the systems as it can be done monthly, daily, or weekly according to the convenience of the firm. It is essential to have a proper plan in place before your legal service faces the threat of cyber criminals and communicate it to the employees for compliance.
