Increase Your Law Firm Security by Using a Password Manager
Law offices are a target for hackers. Here’s how a password manager can boost your law firm's security, keep your data safe, and make your employees’ lives easier.
Whether you work for a law firm or are part of an organization’s legal team, privacy and security are fundamental to your business. You have an ethical responsibility to protect your clients’ privileged information; their reputation—and the reputation of your firm—are on the line.
The key to law firm security, whether you’re learning how to manage a small law firm or are part of a bigger organization, is to follow or implement best security practices, starting with a password manager. Not only will this tamp down on law firm cyberthreats, but it will make law office management easier by improving your company’s productivity.
What are the top law firm security risks?
The incontrovertible truth: Law firms and legal teams are targeted by cybercriminals. These teams have access to a wealth of privileged information (most of it digital), including intellectual property and financial records. Here are some of the common law firm cyberattacks:
- Phishing: Over 50% of employees in the legal sector who leaked information by mistake reported that a phishing email caused the breach.
- Ransomware attacks: These attacks have affected a large number of legal teams in recent years.
- Compromised passwords: Across many industries 61% of data breaches involve compromised or stolen credentials—and 63% of employees across all industries still use recycled passwords for work accounts. The risk for legal teams is especially high. Cybersecurity firm BlueVoyant did a study in 2020 and discovered that 70% of legal firms had been targeted by hackers, resulting in 3,000 compromised or leaked credentials across the internet.
- Remote work: Unsecured WiFi networks and devices can increase the above risks.
Law firm security is a must. These numbers show us why:
- The American Bar Association (ABA) surveyed U.S. law firms in 2019, and 26% of firms surveyed had experienced a data breach. That number rose by 3% in 2020.
- Despite this, only 43% of law firms surveyed by the ABA use encrypted files, and less than half said they use two-factor authentication.
- In a similar survey of UK law firms in 2020, PwC reported that all firms surveyed had experienced a security incident.
Why a password manager is essential for law firms
Not only do password managers protect the sensitive data your firm deals with, they also help improve productivity. Here’s how a password manager can benefit your firm or legal team:
- It keeps credentials safe: Without a password manager, credentials might be stored and shared using outdated methods like spreadsheets, which are both vulnerable to breaches and time consuming to keep up to date.
- It eliminates password resets: IT Admins are commonly called on to reset forgotten employee passwords. According to a recent survey by Dashlane of 1,000 employees, 69% of employees retrieve or reset their passwords monthly, if not more often. A password manager means employees don’t have to remember their logins, making their days less frustrating and alleviating admins from the burden of resetting passwords.
- Your firm can prove to your clients that their data is safe. If your clients have any questions about the security of their data, you can point to your password manager and all of its security solutions, from built-in two factor authentication to strong encryption.
Get started today
Want to learn more about how to implement a password manager and keep your law firm’s data safe? Read our free Password Playbook for Legal Professionals.
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