Insigniary showed in their research that a large number of WiFi routers have firmware issues, which allow for data breaches and hacks. These issues have existed for almost two years, yet they haven’t been patched by the vast majority of users. This is either because a patch wasn’t made available by the router company itself, or because users just don’t know how to update their routers. Small Law Firm owners were by no means running Firms too small to be susceptible to significant data breach attacks—a better-known example of such a situation was the Equifax breach. In fact, small businesses comprised the primary target for hackers due to their low-security levels combined with highly secretive client information. Due to the extremely high cost of repairing the damage incurred by a major data breach, most small businesses experiencing such attacks were obligated to shut down within six months of the cyber invasion. Luckily, there are various valuable—and low-cost—resources available to Law Firm owners that allow them to make significant strides in protecting their data and remaining efficient, effective, and successful:

1. Protect Your Information

This is crucial – you and your employees should never give out your personal information to anyone who requests it. By making sure nobody gains access to your essential information, you will ensure the security and stability of your Firm.

2. Change the Passwords

Even if it might seem as though no one would want to attack or hack your data, you should still frequently change the passwords on any accounts held by your Law Firm, especially right after any big data breach. If you and your employees do this every time a data breach occurs, you will ensure that any data that the hackers might have gained access to is made unavailable to them again, practically nullifying the effects of the invasion.

3. Monitor Account Activity

Trust is a very important factor in any business relationship, but it’s also always better to be safe than sorry. Monitoring the account activity of your employees will let you know when someone is acting suspiciously. This is a way to be proactive about preventing the leaking of any important information about your Law Firm that might be exploited or used against you.

4. Find Some External Help

You can do two things here: purchase an insurance plan that will cover any data breaches, back up your data on a cloud service, or both. Needless to say, the last option is the best if you want security. Keeping your data on a cloud service such as Dropbox, which automatically encrypts your data and keeps it much safer than you would be able to on your personal hard drives, will give you a much higher security level and skyrocket your chances of emerging from a data breach unaffected. Insurance is also always helpful, but it’s only a last-resort measure that helps once the breach has already happened. Because of this, you should seek to implement the previously listed steps before taking this one.

Final Thoughts

Although data breaches are a real and serious threat to anyone handling sensitive client information, particularly within the small Law Firm sector, there are numerous steps that can be taken to keep your data—and your clients’ private details—secure. Be proactive about securing your and your firm’s cyber presence, and you’ll foster a secure, trusting, and profitable relationship with your clients for years to come.