The traps of technology in law

The world of law is governed by trust, confidentiality and secrecy. With modernization and the increasingly digital world, sensitive documents and a lot of confidential information are stored online and transmitted over the internet – in a full plate for cybercriminals.

Cyber ​​security in law firms is increasingly essential nowadays. In general, studies and notes from lawyers who usually work in operations involving a lot of money or companies listed on the stock exchange, contain exclusive and confidential information. If an unauthorized person has access to these documents, it is possible to make changes and or obtain a lot of money illicitly.

And it’s simple. Really simple. In 2016, a law firm in the Philippines was attacked by a virus that simply arrived there via an email with an attachment containing a malware.

Cisco’s 2015 Annual Security Report ranked law firms as number seven on its list of the most vulnerable business sectors, commonly targeted by hackers, and this was the first time that the legal field appeared in the top 10. This is explained by the fact that it is much easier to obtain information from large companies breaking into law firm servers than to go through the corporations’ solid technological security infrastructures. Going a step further, it is the law firm that provides services to these companies and that stores and concentrates their most sensitive information.

Another case took place in Spain, in which the Araoz & Rueda office informed its customers that the company’s internal data had been compromised due to an attack on its database. Altogether, according to information from El País, there are over 400 daily attacks monitored by security agencies across Spain: “We ask that if in the next few days you receive a suspicious message from our office, whether due to the content or the sender, do not click on any hyperlink and inform us as soon as possible,” said the office’s statement.

The New York Times of February 23 2019 brought information that the famous American law firms have held secret meetings to deal with hacker attacks. Law firms are a real depository of confidential information about their clients, including international business transactions and legal wiretaps obtained for legal defense in court, etc. All this if it falls into the hands of criminals can end an operation in progress and cause incalculable damage, because in addition to economic damage there is moral damage and the image of the office.

An office that leaks confidential information loses its credibility right away, its name gets badly spoken and the way customers and the market sees them changes completely. That is why it is crucial to pay extra attention to the care of storing and transmitting information over the internet. Currently, any message can be accompanied by a virus. In addition to a good cybersecurity system, all office staff must be well informed about messages and attachments, that is, in addition to security, there must be detailed training to prevent the invasion of files or their loss

There are some ways to deal with digital security in a healthier way, including:

• More frequent backups and cloud storage: This way the loss of important documents is avoided and all crucial records for the office are saved.
• More powerful Antivirus: A good and complete antivirus and firewall is essential on all office systems.
• Investments in software and IT: You can’t save money when it comes to digital security, keeping information secure and confidential should be standard. 
• Encryption: Encrypting documents is also essential to protect important files with a password. This way, only the user has access, reinforcing the cyber security and privacy of the data of your company and others involved in the process.

Nowadays it is very easy for anyone to learn how to break into computers and servers, all the information you need to carry out an attack can be easily found on the internet or on the deep web, turning anyone into a potential criminal if someone understands more about technology and programming gets even easier.

In this way, it is crucial to adopt methods to protect against cyber attacks and to keep the office’s digital information and documents safe, times are different and the measures taken must be updated.