Protect your firm and clients: Top 10 cybersecurity steps for law firms

Law firms historically are entrusted with highly confidential data, which makes them prime targets for today’s cyber criminals. Protect your firm—and your clients’ information—from cyber threats with these cybersecurity steps and avoid compromising sensitive information and damaging your reputation.

Networks

• Basic protection: Use firewalls with restrictive settings to protect critical systems
• Advanced protection: Restrict wireless network access

Mobile devices

• Basic protection: Require passcodes and encryption on all devices
• Advanced protection: Set up remote wiping capabilities on all devices

Vendor management

• Basic protection: Require vendors to annually certify their cybersecurity practices
• Advanced protection: Develop a robust vendor management process including cybersecurity service level agreements and audits

Encryption

• Basic protection: Encrypt all laptops and desktops
• Advanced protection: Encrypt databases with critical and regulated data

Training

• Basic protection: Frequently communicate cyber threats and proper practices to users
• Advanced protection: Test user compliance using simulated threats and reward users who act responsibly

User access

• Basic protection: Be authoritarian with adding, modifying, and removing all user access
• Advanced protection: Implement two-factor authentication for all users

Disaster recovery

• Basic protection: Replicate critical systems and data to off-site data center
• Advanced protection: Virtualize server and network infrastructure

Incident response

• Basic protection: Purchase quality cyber liability insurance
• Advanced protection: Create an incident response plan, including a multidisciplinary response team and then test against the plan for weaknesses

Logging and monitoring

• Basic protection: Select your top four to seven security events to log and then setup alerts when the events are triggered
• Advanced protection: Implement a security event monitoring system/service

Audits/assessments

• Basic protection: Get an independent third-party to evaluate your cybersecurity practices
• Advanced protection: Develop an annual audit/assessment plan, including quarterly vulnerability scanning

Baker Tilly’s cybersecurity and professional services industry teams can help you assess your current cyber-risk profile on the roadmap or tailor a customized plan unique to your law firm environment. We can give you the tools to protect your law firm today from tomorrow’s cybersecurity breach.

Protect your firm today form tomorrow’s breach

For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly cybersecurity and professional services specialists can help, contact our team.