In January, we shared the top cybersecurity risks your law firm would face this year. Our predictions have held strong: 2024 projects to be the biggest year on record for data breaches at law firms. The American Bar Association has taken note, calling cybersecurity a “nemesis” for law firms; nearly one-third of law firms have suffered a breach—and many more firms simply don’t know if a breach has occurred.

Often, nefarious actors are infiltrating your law firm through one of the most ubiquitous and important tools your team uses: your email communications. Phishing attacks continue to be one of the most common forms of intrusion, in which hackers share compromised attachments or websites, or they deceive your team into providing valuable information. You also regularly send and receive sensitive client information via email, making your firm an attractive target for hackers.

In this post, we highlight the key risks your law firm faces, and we share several practical tips to secure your email communications and thwart an attack.

Understanding Email Security Risks

One of the best defenses against a cyberattack is knowledge. Understand the email-related risks your law firm faces, which includes the following.

• Phishing attacks that target legal professionals. Phishing attacks are dangerous because they’re designed to fool you and your team—and it can all happen in an instant. For example, a law firm in Canada received an email that appeared to be a legitimate message from a partner working on a major acquisition. The phishing email contained an attachment with hidden malware. When an employee at the law firm opened the attachment, it infected dozens of devices across the firm. The outcome of the attack could have sabotaged the entire acquisition.

• Email interception and unauthorized access. Think about all the devices you rely on to serve your clients. This includes computers and laptops provided by your firm’s technology team, but also the personal laptops, mobile phones, and other devices you need to work outside your office. If not properly secured, these devices can be infiltrated through software vulnerabilities, public Wi-Fi use, or theft. 

• Risks of sharing sensitive information via unsecured email. Law firms are an attractive target for cyberattackers because of the sensitive, valuable information you hold, including personal information, privileged data, and trade secrets. Because of this, a cyberattack can not only result in lost business and reputational damage for your firm, it can also lead to your own legal repercussions, fines, and allegations of malpractice. 

Implementing Essential Security Measures

It’s a scary landscape for your law firm. However, there are steps you can take to secure your email communications. At a minimum, we suggest you invest in the following measures. 

• Employ email encryption. The ABA shares 10 best practices to protect your law firm’s data. Not surprisingly, number four on the list is “encrypt, encrypt, encrypt”. Encryption turns readable data into unreadable data unless the sender or recipient holds a special “key” to make it readable again. In addition, the ABA positions encryption as part of your firm’s ethical duty to protect confidential information. It sounds complicated, but there are easy-to-use encryption tools that are either automatic or point-and-click, from Google to Microsoft Office to specialized services and tools for the legal industry.

• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of protection to your email communications. It supplements the traditional username-plus-password approach with a code that is unique to a specific individual. Essentially, MFA asks users to prove who they say they are. Often, these MFA codes are locally generated and delivered to a user’s device via a voice call, an SMS text message, a secure email, or through an app. As with email encryption, there are simple tools you can add through your existing email client, such as Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. 

• Train your team: If your staff is informed on secure email practices, they can act as your first line of defense against an attack. It’s crucial that you and your staff stay vigilant and know how to spot and report potentially harmful emails and intrusions, like sophisticated phishing attempts. Create a training plan for your entire team, and regularly update the content to adapt to the changing landscape of threats. (For more, here’s five cybersecurity training tips.)

Best Practices for Secure Email Use

We know that you’re busy serving your clients and growing your business. As you implement the above security measures, there are several immediate steps you can take today to protect your firm. 

• Avoid public Wi-Fi: Advise your team on the risks of using public Wi-Fi when sending work emails. Public networks are notoriously porous, enabling hackers to infiltrate your email communications from coffee shops, airports, or even at home on a shared network. Instead, provide your team with the tools and training to use a virtual private network (VPN) any time they work on the go.

• Regularly update email software: Pause right now and check your email client (as well as other security tools and software) for any security updates and patched. This will prevent attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities in various email platforms. Automating these updates is recommended to ensure continuous protection. 

• Implement access controls: It’s important to identify not just what email your law firm sends and receives, but who needs access this email—and who doesn’t. Think of access controls as setting “user roles” for everyone with an email account. With access control, you can appeal to your team’s need to work remotely on occasion via safer email communications. Access control can also help you monitor for suspicious activity and swiftly respond to potential threats.

Don’t let your law firm get away with sloppy email communications! One seemingly legitimate phishing email can unleash significant damage and costly clean-up. Instead, invest in the cybersecurity tools and training to keep your team—and your clients—safe. We know you’re busy. A great place to start is with our free Network Security Assessment and Audit. We organize a discovery session with your team to review your technology environment, assess your network security, review your software and configurations, and provide a customized audit report with recommendations. And it’s all free with no commitment required.  Get in touch with us today to end the year on a positive, productive, and protected note!