Survey shows most firms are at significant risk of exposure

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By Laurie Landsittel
Dolan Media Newswires

“You’ve been hacked” are scary words anywhere, but especially at a law firm, where maintaining client confidentiality is required under the rules of professional conduct.

According to a recently released LexisNexis survey, however, many firms still are exposing themselves to significant risk.

With 282 attorneys or legal professionals surveyed, 89 percent of law firms responding reported using unencrypted email to transmit client information, including confidential client information.

Seventy-seven percent of the firms said that the only data security measure they take to secure emails is the confidentiality statement at the bottom of the email.

Other significant survey results include:

• Unencrypted email remains the number one source of sharing information including confidential client information.
• Confidentiality statements are the most widely used protection against data breaches. A minority of law firms are using technology to protect themselves from data breaches with email encryption (22 percent), password protected documents (14 percent) and a secure file sharing site (13 percent).
• Despite the lack of cybersecurity protections that are being utilized at law firms, more than 80 percent of the law firms surveyed believe that a data breach could be disaster for the firm.
• Seventy-three percent of firms believe file sharing is more important than in past years.
• Four percent of law firms do not take any cybersecurity measures.
• Eighty-nine percent of the firms collaborate with clients or other privileged third parties via email, and most of those emails are sent unencrypted.
• More than half of the law firms store confidential client information with free file sharing services.
• Small firms take fewer cybersecurity measures than larger firms.