Every industry has its strengths and weaknesses when handling cyber security issues – some are adept with regulatory compliance, others understand the value of employee education, some manage to get the whole bundle right the first time around. In the legal industry, an interesting precedent is being set regarding cyber security protection. On one hand, firms in the legal industry are realizing their own inconsistent practices; however, other organizations across industries are coming to those in the legal sector for help protecting their data with the law. In other words, it has become a situation of “practice what you preach”.
The second annual report – Cyber Security and Law Firms: Defeating Hackers, Winning Clients from ALM Intelligence – outlines exactly what these legal industry organizations are up against when it comes to lagging behind in simple cyber security protection:
- More than 70% of firms report that their clients have exerted pressure on them to increase internal data security
- Law firms are more confident than ever in their ability to withstand a cyberattack
- Many firms have failed to build out partnerships and protocols that would provide dependable protection and robust response to a data breach
- Worse, more than 50% do not regularly conduct fire drills to test the efficacy of their plans
This stands in stark contrast to the following statistics about the positive implications of a growing cyber security market:
- More than 85% of those surveyed identify as having a practice group dedicated to issues of data privacy and security
- More than 40% of firms with a cyber security practice group expect to grow their headcount in the next year.
Overall, there is an obvious increase on the corporate side for legal information security expertise. However, its these very firms that don’t have the internal cyber security backing they need to protect their networks and data. The sheer fact that more than 50% fail to test the very cyber security protocols they have to use if a worst-case scenario occurs is troubling enough. Managed and monitored cyber security services offered by Neovera allow companies to create their own protection plans, meanwhile taking into account the industry-specific compliance regulations.