Protecting our data from hackers has sadly become a part of life. In 2017, security breaches have been in the headlines almost daily, with attacks like WannaCry and Petya taking down major organizations such as Renault, Hitachi and the United Kingdom’s national health system. It has become clear that this issue isn’t going away anytime soon and that to protect our organizations one must be proactive in nature. Law firms should be especially cautious as they host valuable, confidential data and many may lack in-house security specialists to properly manage their data security needs. We’ve provided 3 tips to help your law firm protect itself against hackers.
Monitor all Devices on Your Network
This is the era of BYOD (bring your own device) to work. Staff are bringing their own laptops, tablets, and smartphones to the office and connecting to your network. If not monitored and controlled, this can make your network extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks. According to Tech Pro Research’s study, 60% of organizations currently have a BYOD policy in place. This means many organizations don’t have a policy in place, without a proper policy in place your network is more vulnerable. Your organization should make it a priority to have a strong BYOD strategy in place. There are many apps that allow your organization to monitor devices on your network and offer additional benefits such as remote data wiping if a device is lost or stolen. Recent cyber-attacks have shown us that your network is only as strong as your weakest link, once a malicious program finds its way in it can spread within the network unless proper controls are in place.
Knowledgeable Employees Are Your First Line of Defense
EY’s Global Information Security Survey 2015 discovered 44% of executives consider employees the greatest cybersecurity vulnerability in their organization. To mitigate this vulnerability, ensure your employees receive regular security training. Most recommend, training be repeated annually as memory fades and security threats are always evolving. Security training should cover topics such as phishing, social engineering, malware, passwords, use of portable devices, physical access, data destruction, encryption, data breaches and how employees are expected to respond if a security threat is detected.
Consider a Managed Security Provider or Cloud Storage
This may sound self-serving (since after all, we are a managed service provider) but the fact remains that utilizing a reliable provider provides you with many benefits. By using a provider, you are given a more cost-effective way to manage your security, granted access to a team of experts, to best-in-class technologies and innovation. Your security budget simply isn’t going to match that of a completely secured facility that has multiple layers of physical and digital security, encryption, and redundancy. Data centers offer the best level of security but remain affordable because you only pay for what you use.