4 Cybersecurity Threats A Law Firm Cannot Fight in Court

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4 Cybersecurity Threats A Law Firm Cannot Fight in Court
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Insufficient cybersecurity measures leave law firms vulnerable to document theft, ransoms, and a damaged professional reputation. Protect your practice.  

Hackers are criminals that don't pick locks or use a crowbar to get into a law firm and steal valuable and confidential information. Rather, these nefarious individuals could be thousands of miles away sitting in a coffee shop quietly penetrating a law firm's defense. When the theft is over, they often leave little trace evidence about their identity and reside outside the jurisdiction. There's very little even the most skilled attorney can do to fight cybercrimes in court. That's why it's crucial to take advanced cybersecurity precautions to close these four threats before your attorney-client privacy is violated.

1: System Penetrations Via Email Scams

Although email scams rank among the most well-known hacker tactics, it's incredible how effective the cybercrime tool remains. One of the reasons that hackers continue to successfully use email intrusions is that they have a wealth of persuasive methods at their disposal. Phishing and email hacks do not necessarily rely on avoiding or penetrating cybersecurity software and password defenses.

Hackers have developed strategies that blend the flimflam confidence scams of yesteryear with advanced technology. They know that lawyers routinely check confidential files using online tools such as Dropbox and DocuSign, among others. The latest techniques send seemingly legitimate requests to login and check a file update. The text message or email used to contact an attorney at a courthouse may look precisely like that of a colleague or employee. Once you take the bait, the cybercriminal gains access to your documents. They may even lock you out by changing your password and username.

2: Ransomware Targets Law Firms in New Ways

The strategies used by cybercriminals to extort money out of law firms have evolved regarding ransomware. The early use of ransomware targeted office personnel who made crucial missteps and opened emails or unveiled their username and password. By allowing the hacker's virus to infiltrate a firm's system, the deal was usually payment to release the network. It was like making a deal with the devil, and many law firms and businesses paid.

But the early strategies tended to leave at least some electronic footprint that could be traced back to the criminal. Although difficult to follow and prove in a court of law, cybercriminals have rolled out a far more dangerous type of ransomware to avoid detection. The use of what is being called "wiper-ware" no longer simply holds electronic files hostage. Wiper-ware can erase every piece of data stored in a law firm's network.

Hackers now coerce lawyers to either pay or have everything destroyed. It's also in their best interest to wipe a system clean after taking payment in order to leave virtually no trace evidence behind. It's a classic mafia-style crime.

3: The Rise of Hacktivists

Even a cursory glance at the national media headlines show that determined social justice warriors have adopted an almost Machiavellian attitude. Activists often believe that the ends justify the means, and hacking an opposition law firm is not unethical. These so-called "hacktivists" are often political extremists with advanced computer skills that will relentlessly target a lawyer both professionally and personally. Their attacks could range from influencing an employee to turn over electronic files for the good of their cause or gaining access to an attorney's social media accounts in an effort to discredit. When attorneys do their jobs to provide the best possible legal counsel in controversial cases, cybersecurity threats escalate.

4: Damaging Malpractice Lawsuits

Seasoned attorneys understand that slip and fall injuries are a prominent reason for personal injury lawsuits. A business fails to warn customers about a wet floor or leaves debris in a stairwell that causes a hard impact fall and injury. Businesses, including law firms, maintain insurance for protection. Many companies install security cameras to prevent scam artists from faking a slip and fall and suing them. In many ways, a law firm that fails to protect itself from hackers is like a brick and mortar business without a security camera.

That's because when a cybercriminal steals files and discloses sensitive information, the result can be your clients filing a malpractice lawsuit. In the age of electronic document storage, data in spaces such as the Cloud are increasingly vulnerable. The expectation is that law firms take every conceivable cybersecurity measure available to prevented unwelcome disclosures of privileged information. If a savvy hacker gains access to client files, your law firm slipped up and could be paying damages. That hacker will be nowhere to be found when your firm gets served.

According to a Legal Technology Survey conducted by the American Bar Association, upwards of 22 percent of law firms suffered some form of a cybersecurity breach in 2017. Given that an attorney's reputation for maintaining attorney-client privilege is central to a lucrative practice, it's critical that the highest level of cybersecurity be in place to thwart emerging threats.

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