Information Security and the Legal Sector

Safeguarding their interests against cyber-attacks should be a top priority for law firms.

Financial loss is rarely the most detrimental issue for businesses where cyber attacks are concerned. The legal sector is an especially attractive target for cybercriminals due to the wealth of sensitive information held by law firms. A successful cyber-attack has the potential to cause long-term reputational damage, with severe implications for the future of the firm.

Information security is a substantial risk for the legal sector. Law firms are an attractive target to cybercriminals due to the vast wealth of personal and private information in their possession.

Cyber-attacks on Uk law firms alone increased by a fifth between 2014 and 2016, with nearly three-quarters of the country’s top 100 targeted in 2015, according to PwC’s 25th Annual Law Firms’ survey.

Despite the increasing threat and the potential damage following a breach, a survey by an online legal magazine, Legal Week, found that only 35% of law firms had a response plan in place for cyber-attacks. This is compared to 52% for non-legal professions.

With the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) due to come into force in May 2018, European legal firms that fail to appropriately secure personal data will face severe fines in the event of a breach

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