Four Ways To Protect Your Law Firm’s Data (Part 2)

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Last month, we published an article exploring the necessity of protecting your law firm’s most valuable data – alongside some helpful tips you can use when working toward this goal.

However, as the cybersecurity world is constantly evolving, so are the intervention strategies you can use to your advantage. This article is a follow-up with a second set of useful tips and tools to protect your law firm’s data.

1. Use a business bank account (and check it regularly) 

Using your personal banking account for your business could not only lead to a nightmare come tax season, but it could also put your financial data at risk as business bank accounts tend to be more secure. 

For example, many providers will regularly monitor business credit card activity to identify discrepancies or threats on your behalf. They will also be able to flag these issues right away.

However, you should also ensure that you manually inspect your card activity regularly. Failure to do so, even when you have a hefty task list, could put your firm at risk, as you may not notice discrepancies or fraudulent activity within your transactions until it’s too late. 

2. Implement role-based access systems

In our last blog, we discussed the importance of staff training in upholding security protocols. After all, studies show that up to 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error.

However, you can take this to the next level by implementing role-based access systems within your workplace. This system limits access to specific data or files so that only those who need to access it can do so, effectively stopping unauthorized individuals from accessing sensitive data. This is also an incredibly effective way to ensure you uphold all data protection laws and regulations within your firm. 

3. Dispose of data that is no longer needed

There are many valid reasons for holding onto certain data sets. For example, government regulations may require you to hold onto certain data relating to client cases for a specific period once their case closes. However, outside of this, it’s important to note that holding onto unnecessary data only increases the risk of breaches or leaks occurring. 

As such, regularly disposing of data that’s no longer necessary can help strengthen your cybersecurity protocols. It can also come in handy when cutting down business costs, as you no longer have to pay for document storage. As such, it can be a great way to get your business prepared for an economic downturn. 

4. Use a Password Manager 

Using strong passwords (and avoiding repetitive passwords) is the most tried and tested digital security strategy around. After all, this once again helps to stop unauthorized personnel, such as hackers, from gaining access to sensitive or personal data.

However, the more passwords you use, the harder it can be to track which password should be used and when. This could mean that you end up locking yourself out of your accounts (or important files) and cause downtime and unnecessary stress. Using a password manager can help here – as they can store your passwords securely so you can always access your documents without using simple or easy-to-guess passwords. 

Final Thoughts

As new stories relating to cyberattacks appear on our timelines every day, small business owners everywhere are feeling the threat. Despite this, there are many different avenues that law firm owners can explore when trying to protect their data. This includes: 

  • Working to understand the threat
  • Investing in cybersecurity systems
  • Using two-factor authentication 
  • Offering expansive employee training 
  • Using business bank accounts 
  • Implementing role-based access systems
  • Disposing of unnecessary data
  • Using password managers

At FinOp Group, we have years of experience working with legal professionals, helping them to better understand and manage their financial data. With our team’s financial expertise, you can ensure your firm’s financial policies and processes are secure.

If you’d like to learn more, please do not hesitate to get in touch today.