4 #Cybersecurity Issues Attorneys Should Know About
Cybersecurity isn't some science fiction fantasy for the big screen and television. It should be an important focus for any business or professional that maintains confidential or sensitive digital information.
Attorneys are among those with the most to lose in a cybersecurity breach. After all, it's not just a client's information that could be on the line: an attorney's license can be in jeopardy for failing to sufficiently safeguard a client's files.
Below, you'll find four cybersecurity threats and issues of which attorneys need to be aware.
1. Coffee Shop Lawyers, Public Wi-Fi Is Not Your Friend
It may be hip to sit down in the local cafe with an iced blended coffee concoction and your laptop, lawyering away in 21st century style, but it's likely to not be as secure as your home or office. Use public wifi with caution as there could be a myriad of threats both nearby and far away that target a particular public wifi access point. Minimally, you need to make sure you have a strong firewall if you are going to connect your computer to a public wifi network.
2. Privacy, Security Risks When Telecommuting
You may feel safe and comfortable while lawyering from your kitchen table in your superhero jammies, but your home wifi is likely to be less secure than an office wifi. Also, the most old school form of cyber crime is simply stealing a personal or work computer while it is offsite in an employee's home. Even with VPN access, and other security devices, telecommuting presents unique cybersecurity risks.
3. What's a Keylogger? Should I Be Afraid?
Keylogger software and hardware enable individuals to see everything you are typing by monitoring each keystroke on a keyboard. Hackers can deconstruct the keystroke data to learn username and passwords and other sensitive information.
While a targeted attack may be near impossible to avoid, keyloggers are most frequently installed by criminals at public computers in libraries and hotel lobbies. The common advice is to regard public computer terminals the same way you would an unknown public toilet, with optimism and a healthy fear of death.
4. Are You Insured Against Ransomware? You Should Be
Since attorneys have sensitive client data stored on their computers, online, in the cloud, and on office networks, ransomware is a serious threat to guard against. In addition to insurance, regular offline backups are essential to defending against ransomware attacks.
Related Resources:
- Actually, You Should Be Scared of Robots (FindLaw's Technologist)
- You Can't Just Prevent Cyberattacks, You Need to Detect Them Too (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Man Faces Prison Time for Threatening Cyberattack on Legal Website (FindLaw's Technologist)