IT risks for law firms

It is now a recurring theme within our blog: the digital revolution is bringing many benefits to our society, but, as often happens, it is also necessary to consider the other side of the coin.

We are talking about the phenomenon defined as cyber risk, i.e. cyber attacks that cause economic damage, reputational damage or the automation of company operational processes.

Law firms are not excluded from these crimes as client data is increasingly processed through technological tools. That’s why it’s critical that law firms follow strong cybersecurity protocols.

The lawyer today must know and master the technological tools with which he looks after the interests of his clients, and equip himself so that data and information are safeguarded and protected, without compromising professional secrecy.

What are the risks for law firms?

From a business perspective, the risks following a cyber attack are different and possibly very serious. Let’s look at some examples together:

• Reputational damage
• Business interruption
• Economic and financial losses
• Litigation
• Theft of critical information
• Dissemination of critical confidential information
• Institutional assessment activities
• Economic and interdictory sanctions
• Data Protection implications (employee and customer privacy)
• Stealing of trade secrets
• Reduction in the value of Intellectual Properties
• Mandatory post-accident obligations and procedures

All these repercussions obviously lead to economic-financial losses which, in some cases, can lead to catastrophic consequences on a business and social level.

How to protect yourself from cyber risk

Network security is the first level of defense against any information breach. Maximum attention should therefore be paid to

• Firewall: protects the network from unauthorized access and prevents intrusions from stealing information.
• Have a professional antivirus, capable of detecting and eliminating malicious programs, ensuring network protection.
• Never open attachments from unsafe senders. Always check the sender address and subject.
• Passwords: today the concept of password has been replaced by that of «passphrase», considering the fact that the longer it is, the more secure the password is. Never share passwords or access codes, not even with your closest colleagues or assistants.
• Frequently updating the software and operating systems in use allows you to fix significant bugs in programs and operating systems and remove obsolete files. The most important purpose of the updates, in fact, is to improve the security system. Hackers are constantly evolving, so it is essential to keep up with them.
• To avoid losing valuable data and information, it is necessary to back up on a system other than the one in which the data is stored.
• Study Formation: Statistically, the most common and disastrous IT security problems are due to human error. People unfamiliar with security or unaware of the value of certain information can make serious mistakes without knowing it. It is therefore essential to offer training sessions to staff so that they have full awareness of how to act.

Developing new skills and new tools to improve the network security of your system therefore represents a challenge of great importance for the growth of your business.