Data is the new oil – while it’s not a perfect metaphor, just as oil was vital to the 20th century economy, data is essential in the 21st.
And in a post-COVID world with some staff working remotely while others are back at the office, managing your law firm’s data in a way that keeps it secure and provides everyone at the firm with the access they need requires, well, an expert.
The truth is preventing your remote staffed law firm’s data from being breached does not need to be a cumbersome task that slows down your firm. But keeping your data secure does require a few specific steps in the process:
Establish Sound Policies
While robust, creating a 27-step policy on how to keep data secure is not going to work well. In the end, people are the critical point in your firm’s security where a hacker will look to break into your system. Make sure they know not to click random links on the internet and to not download attachments they are not expecting to receive – and tell them why.
An informed team on the lookout is going to do a better job protecting the firm than a large formal policy.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is going to do a lot of heavy lifting to keep your law firm’s data secure. MFA forces users to bypass an extra barrier before they can access the account, and that extra hurdle makes a big difference.
Provide Company Technology
Make sure that whatever computer, tablet, or phone that is being used to access company information is not also in use for personal leisure. This can create a world of complications as personal information becomes conflated with company information. This is one of the leading ways for data breaches.
Utilize Virtual Private Network
The point of a VPN is that the information stays within your four walls and not in the hands of others. IT security has been seen as a non-complicated affair for law firms. Often hiring IT companies to help them secure their office from any outside intrusion, law firms depended on the fact that everything was safe within those four walls. Establishing a VPN lets you not only connect from inside of the office, but also expands the walls of your office, to take advantage of all that protection while on the outside. This lets the office (the device in this case) be relatively free to operate.
When employees that work remotely access the firm’s network, they should be logging on through a VPN which requires a two-factor authentication. This will help prevent network disturbances and intrusions and will also prompt every employee to regularly update passwords and system updates.
VPNs help keep the same level of secure networking and protection of relevant files and databases even when employees are not sharing the same space. It is a pretty remarkable thing.
Give us a call if you run into any problems along the way. We’re here to help you!
