Free Antivirus Usage with Cybersecurity Tips for Lawyers & Law Firms

 Free Antivirus Usage with  Cybersecurity Tips for Lawyers & Law Firms

 

Lawyers are obligated to protect the trust of their clients, and clients are beginning to demand that law firms have policies in place to ensure that client information is protected against a cyber-attack.

Many law firms are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The costs to prevent and prepare for a cyberattack are high, but law firms are beginning to realize the importance of cybersecurity to their clients and to the reputation of the firm.

That is why we prepared this guide to help you implement adequate cybersecurity in your office. This will prevent cyberattacks and, should they occur, you will have the right tools to respond to them and reduce the risks they can cause.

These are the steps you must follow to implement this cybersecurity policy in the office.

Possible Vulnerabilities

You cannot adopt measures to protect the information that you handle in the office if you do not first know the threats you face. To do this, you must first identify the most important data you have in your office (above all, it will be your clients' files) and where you keep them.

You should also verify the devices and software you use to store or transmit that information.

How can a law firm become a victim of a cyber attack?

The main threats lawyers face are:

1. Malware: This malicious software violates information systems. The malware can block access to the law firm's network or parts of the network, or it can copy data from the law firm's hard drive.

2. Phishing: The hacker impersonates a legitimate company and attempts to steal personal information or login credentials.

3. MITM (man in the middle)  attack: In this scam, also known as a spy attack, the scammer intercepts and transmits messages between two parties who believe they are communicating with each other.

Once you are aware of your vulnerabilities, you must begin to establish security measures that prevent or reduce the chances of those vulnerabilities being exploited.

 

How to Protect Your Software

The way to protect the software used in the office is to always keep it updated.

Among the software most used by lawyers is Lexnet, Abogest, Aranzadi Infolex, or Lex tools. When this software is out of date, it contains errors that are exploited by cybercriminals to access it and steal important information.

These attacks can cause significant losses for your firm as they can sell or publish your clients' confidential data or access their bank account or credit card numbers.

To protect the software in your office, if you manage the computers yourself, it is recommended to install Windows Update to automatically update the system.

1) Install a Best Antivirus Software

One of the ways to protect the software used in the office is to install a good Free Antivirus.

Viruses and malware can damage your devices and destroy your files. Antivirus programs are designed to find and intercept viruses before they do harm.

An antivirus program is essential on a Windows PC, and it can also be very useful for Mac and Linux users.

2) Install a firewall

Generally speaking, a firewall is a software program that prevents unauthorized access from a private network. Firewalls are tools that can be used to improve the security of computers connected to a network, such as the LAN or the Internet. They are an integral part of a comprehensive security framework for your network.

It is important that the law firm install a firewall that protects all your devices and software against external threats. For more information on firewalls, read this complete guide.

3) Protect your hardware

We can define hardware as the external devices used to connect to the Internet: desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

It is important to protect these devices against external threats. Especially laptops, which we can remove from the office, which increases the risk of suffering a cyberattack.

If you take those devices out of the office, you face the possibility of having them stolen or accessing your data if you connect from an unsecured network.

To avoid this, you must enter passwords to access the device and use a VPN.

 

4) Set access passwords

While many security steps relate to intangible threats, there is always the possibility that someone could grab your computer or smartphone. A simple line of defence here is to have a strong password to at least make entry difficult for them.

If you are concerned about someone actually accessing your device, another option is a physical lock. This is an ideal solution for laptops. Also, keep in mind that passwords must be strong to make them more difficult to crack. On this page, you have more information about passwords.

5) Use a VPN

A virtual private network (VPN) is a great way to increase your security, especially when browsing online. While using a VPN, all your internet traffic is encrypted and routed through an intermediary server in a separate location. This masks your IP and replaces it with a different one, so your ISP can no longer monitor your activity.

When it comes to choosing a provider, there are some free offers, but the monthly fees for paid services can be quite low, even as low as € 3 a month.

Some payment options have free trials for the full service, and most offer generous money-back guarantee periods.

6) Secure your office data

Lawyers have a great deal of confidential information about their clients. This includes data on criminal convictions and health data, considered as specially protected.

That is why it is essential to secure this information against unauthorized access.

To protect this information, it is important to make backup copies, use data encryption systems, use strong passwords, secure Wi-Fi networks, and surf the Internet safely.

7) Make backup copies (Backup)

If you only need to back up specific data, use software that lets you choose which files you want to save. To be safe, back up entire folders on a recurring basis to ensure newly created or updated files are backed up at a later date.

You must make backup copies of your clients 'files stored digitally, of your employees' payroll ..., that is, of all the information of your company.

8) Cloud storage

A must for any lawyer with more than one computer or device in use, the synchronization software ensures that you have the same files on all your devices.

Make a change to a file and it will be automatically pushed to all devices using the account, even on other operating systems. They always include an online file backup, which you can access from anywhere, even via smartphone.

Within the software to store information in the cloud, we can highlight Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive.

9) Encrypt the data

Data encryption translates data into another form or code so that only people with access to a secret key (formally called a decryption key) or password can read it.

Today, encryption is one of the most popular and effective data security methods used by businesses, and law firms as well.

Lawyers face the challenge of protecting data and preventing data loss as employees use external devices, removable media, and web applications more frequently as part of their daily business procedures.

Sensitive data may no longer be under the control and protection of the firm, as employees copy data to removable devices or upload them to the cloud.

10) Secure Wi-Fi networks

For a lawyer, it is essential to protect your Wi-Fi network to prevent third parties from connecting to it and being able to access the information in your emails, the bank details of your clients, or any other confidential information.

To secure Wi-Fi, the first thing to do is to check the password. Routers usually have a default password. But this may not be enough since a hacker can decrypt it and access the network.

11) Surf safely on the Internet

There are a series of recommendations to be able to navigate safely on the Internet without endangering the information you handle in the office:

• Use a secure browser
• Use a password manager
• Access only HTTPS web pages
• Don't open strange emails from unknown senders
• Use a VPN