In an article published on DarkReading.com on June 26, WRVB cybersecurity and data privacy attorney Jonathan Gallo comments on the recent surge of cyberattacks on law firms.
According to the recent cyber threat report for the UK legal sector published by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), threat actors targeting legal run the gamut from petty cybercrime thugs with off-the-shelf ransomware tools to nation-state actors backed by China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The report suggests nearly 75% of the UK’s top-100 law firms have been affected by cyberattacks.
Speaking on sensitive data law firms maintain and the potential damage exposure of this information might inflict, Gallo offers “in addition to possessing personal information about their employees, law firms possess significant amounts of sensitive information concerning their clients. This can include not only personal information, but other sensitive information such as sensitive corporate information, trade secrets, merger and acquisition information, medical records, and other information.”
Licensed attorneys have an ethical obligation to protect their client secrets, which adds personal and professional reputation to the list of potential losses.
Click here to read more on the recent wave of attacks and Gallo’s prescriptive advice for law firms looking to protect their digital assets.
