Millions of lawyers work in and around the United States, many of whom own or are employed by law firms. If you’re among those that work in a legal setting, chances are, you come across sensitive data regularly.
Imagine if that data were to leak to the public. Would that cause issues for you, your firm, or the people to who that data pertains?
We’re willing to bet it would.
Consequently, law firms are increasingly working with cloud based IT providers that can help them safeguard their data from bad actors that live to intercept information.
Curious to know the value that a cloud based online security team can bring to your law firm? If you are, keep reading as we break down a handful of ways remote IT teams help firms like yours operate more safely.
1. Remote Malware Scans
Malware is one of the chief vehicles that hackers use to intercept information. The way this vehicle works is that victims are prompted to download some sort of attachment from say, a questionable email. The moment that attachment is downloaded, a small piece of covert software gets installed which then passes information to a third-party computer whenever it’s crafted or read on the infected machine.
Cloud based IT teams have the ability to run a remote virus scan to identify and remove hidden malware from your firm’s computers, year-round.
2. Process Consulting
Cloud based IT isn’t all about fixing problems once you have them. A massive function they possess is the ability to help you get out ahead of problems.
For example, your IT team might see that your internal team is sending sensitive documents to one another via Gmail. Noticing that, they could share the security risks involved in sending unencrypted files via popular email applications and may advise migrating to an intranet solution for file-sharing or some other secure means of exchanging information.
Process consulting not only makes firms like yours safer but can also lead to more efficiency while working.
3. Browser Monitoring
What websites are the people on your team visiting? Are they all related to work? Are they safe?
Cloud based security teams, with your permission, can keep tabs on your company computer’s browsing histories and flag if people at your firm are visiting sites that have been known to pose risks. What’s better is that your cloud based team can pre-block questionable sites which helps you get ahead of people innocently accessing them.
4. Legal Compliance
It’s great that you’re being proactive in protecting your client’s and firm’s data. Did you know though that depending on where you practice law, you may have a legal obligation to exceed what it is you’re doing regarding data protection?
Laws to this end vary from state to state. The good news is that if you’re working with IT services that have routinely worked with clients in your area, they’ll know exactly what you need to do to avoid incurring legal repercussions from the state due to the way you manage company data.
5. Password Obligations
How often do you mandate that your employees/team members change their passwords? Do you even know how to make password changes obligatory?
If you don’t, we don’t blame you. Remote IT teams do know how to tackle that task though and them doing so can substantially reduce the risk of a data breach.
Passwords should be reset every quarter. That way, if one gets lost due to a browsing mishap, it being out in the open will only pose a risk to your company up until the moment your affected employee updates their credentials.
Suggested: Beware: Hackers May be Listening to Your Keyword Strokes to Figure Out Your Password
6. Black Market Scrubbing
Millions upon millions of leaked bits of data exist on the internet’s black market. That data can, at any moment, be bought and exploited.
Among leaked data could be your business’ passwords, client information, and more.
A relatively new tool many cloud based security experts are rolling out for their clients is the monitoring of black markets. This monitoring enables your legal IT team to identify when data being sold online could be related to your company so you can be notified and take appropriate action.
7. VPN Integrations
VPNs (or virtual private networks) are tools that several law firms and other businesses use to privatize their data. What VPN’s do is encrypt data (in most cases) and then bounce that data off of secure, third-party servers before sending it to its final destination.
That combination of encryption and passing through an intermediary makes it significantly harder to encrypt data and read it.
Integrating VPNs into your existing networking workflows can be tricky to do. IT services crush that difficulty curve and can have you up and running with a VPN in days. That alone may be well worth the value of working with a cloud based IT professional.
Cloud Based IT Is a Security Solution Your Firm Can’t Afford to Ignore
With data breaches becoming an everyday occurrence, it’s no wonder why more and more law firms are flocking towards remote based IT teams to help them better protect themselves. If you haven’t taken that step yet, we recommend you do so.
Waiting could lead to catastrophic losses your firm will have a hard time recovering from.
If you’re still scratching your head as to why engaging cloud based legal IT services for your online security needs makes sense, we’ve got your covered. Consider browsing more insightful content on our blog to keep fulfilling your need to know.
