Online Security for Small Law Firms and Solo Law Practices
Are You Keeping Up with Today’s Law Firm Online Security Practices?
Doing all that you can to protect yourself online – your law firm’s data as well as your personal privacy – is a constant question of LeanLaw clients. Choosing the right online security tools for your small law firm or solo practice is important not only to prevent a hack but also to maintain your ethical duties as outlined by the American Bar Association.
When LeanLaw provides advice to its lawyer members, we take into account their needs, the facility with which they can incorporate our suggestions as well as the economics of the solution. LeanLaw Chief Services Officer, Jonathon Fishman, was advising a client via email about going further with online security in his small law practice. Following is Jonathon’s advice:
In general, your machine is as secure as one would expect. You have anti-malware software and you use a password on your machine. In addition, your wireless network is secured via password. You’re doing what you should be doing.
The weakest link in your security chain is you. What links you click, what passwords you use and what common sense you follow will all play into the likelihood of a hack or malware infestation. I don’t want you to overreact and think you have to make serious changes. Rather, common sense wins here. If something seems fishy, it probably is.
You can also consider engaging an online identity tracking site. The biggest brands are LifeLock & Identity Guard.
The next level of security would be a password management tool for stronger passwords and regular changing of the passwords for your online accounts. Password management tools keep all your passwords in a secure vault and allow you to access them when logging into secure sites. With these tools you can use your own passwords or they can generate them for you. I like LastPass
Other good vendors are Dashline and Robo Form.
It is highly unlikely that your machine would be targeted and hacked without your clicking on a “bad” link, one that you don’t recognize that could implant malware. There just not enough incentive for a hacker to try and pry into your computer. The risk/reward isn’t there. The hackers of the world want a honey pot if they put themselves at risk. This is why they focus on corporations and other entities that house millions of Social Security numbers and credit cards. These can be extracted and sold quickly in what they refer to as the “dark web.”
Where individuals get hacked or are vulnerable is in their online accounts. There is little to do there. In today’s world, we will always go online when we bank, send emails and interact with other private data.
All good things to consider for your law practice online security needs! If you want this kind of thoughtful, curated-for-you advice, give us a call / email / IM at LeanLaw. Our mission is to help you have a lean law practice: efficient and cost effective.
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Gary Allen, Founder and Practicing Attorney
