How to assess the exposure to cybercrime in your law firm
What are you obligated to do?
The SRA rules demand that you “Review and assess cyber risks and level of exposure to cybercrime”.
Why do this?
The world is becoming ever more digital by the day, to the extent that practically every business in the world has some sort of digital presence – and, as a legal practice, you are no different. Bearing in mind the sensitive data that you hold about your clients, the monies that are transferred back and forth, and the sheer importance of the communications you deal with daily, your legal practice is a very appealing target for all manner of cyber criminals.
As a law firm you should uphold your cyber security to a higher standard than other firms (especially due to the importance and value of the data you hold on your system) - this makes it even more integral to periodically review and assess potential cyber risks and your level of exposure to them.
Cyber criminals are rarely the geniuses that are portrayed in Hollywood films but that doesn’t mean they are stupid. Cleverly, they have begun targeting practices on the days that they are likely to be busiest (such as on a Friday before a bank holiday, for example), and will choose times on which you and your team are likely to be under the most pressure around exchanges and completions.
A popular attack is what is referred to as a Phishing attack - for instance, this could be a simple well-timed email containing bank details, which looks official enough to dupe the practice into sending a deposit payment to the cyber criminal’s bank account.
Also, SRA’s rules – like most regulations – are constantly being altered and evolving to match the technologically-based operations of the modern law firm. You MUST maintain a grip on the security of your practice and therefore control the likelihood of a threat being successful. You must always be confident that your policies, technical controls, and the awareness of your team are adequately capable of defending your system against threats. These risk assessments will help to ensure that not only are you protected against a potentially business-defining attack but, arguably just as importantly, that you remain compliant to the SRA rules and, in turn, the law.
How do I conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment in my legal practice?
Most in your sector outsource their IT to a third party - in fact, most businesses in the world do just that. As is the case in any industry, it is essential that your IT company are strategically aligned with the way you do business. They should know and understand the SRA regulations and the laws in which you are obligated to abide by.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for most IT companies – they won’t even know what the SRA is!
If this is the case, what will the best IT partner for you do to help you get ahead of your IT compliance requirements?
The right IT partner should split their IT support into three distinct pillars of best practice which you must imbed into the very fibres of your organisation – in this way you can guarantee a security-based approach from your entire team.
- Policies and procedures
The policies and procedures that you have in place can make the difference between being secure or not. Your staff must know the rules which they are bound by when using the tech in your organisation, and the handling of the data that resides on that technology. You must also ensure that your policy documents are enforced in the technical controls you implement (more on these next).
The right IT partner will help your technical controls and the policies you implement to align in such a way that your team can work as effectively as possible whilst simultaneously remaining compliant. The rules you choose to bring into your team’s workday could include secure password policies, for example, which force your team to have a security-focused mindset, and will also teach them some sense of accountability regarding the way they navigate the system.
- Technical defences
Your technical defences must be configured to best practice at all times. You must also maintain them regularly, whilst ensuring they are always based on the most up-to-date versions. These defences include Firewalls, Anti-Malware software, and password management tools. Technical defences can go as far as you want them to - there are thousands of options on the market ranging from the very cheap and not good enough to ridiculously expensive and overkill – it is down to you to assess where on that scale you need to position your security.
- Awareness and education
Your team needs to have adequate training and education about cyber attacks and how to detect a threat. Your staff must feel comfortable to (but also know how to) report a problem with no risk of being blamed – a lot of employees in firms all over the world hesitate to report a problem they have either caused or encountered because of this factor. Educating your team should be one of the main concerns you have in your organisation, because, if done correctly, it will mitigate the risk cyber crime poses to your organisation. There is no point in spending valuable capital on top-of-the-line technical controls and time preparing the best policies and procedures if your team has too little knowledge on how to detect and prevent threats. Your team must be educated and made aware of the important position they occupy in the defence of your systems.
The SRA recommend the adoption of the UK Government’s flagship cyber security certification assessment, Cyber Essentials Plus. With this accreditation you can be confident that your practice is at the peak of its powers in regard to cyber security.
Cyber Essentials also plays another important role. We all know what it's like - we are enthusiastic today, tomorrow, and the next day, but will we be the day after that? It is easy to fall back into bad habits, be it through busyness or because the old ways are simply more familiar to the team. Having the annual commitment and external independent assessment included with the Cyber Essentials Plus programme keeps the cyber security of your organisation firmly at the forefront of concerns, meaning you will maintain a progressive and proactive approach to keeping up with evolving cyber threats and defences.
Do you need to assess the threats to your practice?
Are you nervous that the cyber security of your organisation is not up to scratch? Are you actively seeking a way of tackling the threats to your organisation? Perhaps you need to prepare for an SRA ‘Stress Test’, or are considering implementing Cyber Essentials Plus? Whatever the case, we are the strategically aligned IT partner for you. We pride ourselves in being the go-to IT company you need to prepare your defences against whatever cyber criminals have up their sleeve, and, with our extensive knowledge of the legal system and the compliance obligations you as a legal practice must adhere to daily, we are perfectly positioned to be the ideal partner for you.
Please don’t hesitate to get in contact with our team to learn more about us and what we can offer you going forward.
We're Datek Solutions
Since 1998 we have been managing IT support, solutions and strategy for a range of clients. We have won awards for our excellent customer service and pride ourselves on being transparent. What you see, is what you get.
What makes us different? We don’t use a one-size fit all approach. We get to know your business and everyone in it, what it needs and how we can support you to give the best solutions at the best possible prices.
Above all this, we are committed to keeping it simple for you. If there’s a solution that your company needs, or you already have and it’s essential we support it, we make sure we know everything there is to know about it.
Contact us on 01753 540000 or email us at contactus@datek.co.uk.
