Cyber-attacks and online fraud are an ever-escalating threat for conveyancing professionals. There has been a 113% rise in alerts issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority from March 2020 to March 2021 demonstrating it is not a matter of if your firm will become a target, but when.
Lawyer Checker, a business that specialises in risk mitigation for the legal sector and CTS who provide specialist technology for the business of law are partnering for the Cyber Attack Crisis Management for Law Firms webinar on the 26th May at 11am. Legal professionals can register free for the event here.
Even with enterprise-level security measures in place, law firms remain at high risk from hackers due to the sensitive and valuable nature of the data they hold.
It is near on impossible to continuously protect against all threats. So, firms must fully prepare for a cyber-attack event to ensure they respond quickly when it happens to minimise the damage caused to their reputation.
At the Cyber Attack Crisis Management webinar the panel of three experts include:
• David Fazakerley: In-house Legal CIO at CTS
David has unique experience on both sides of the table – both as CIO within a law firm and now as a specialist IT services provider to the sector. He will provide guidance about how to respond to a breach and reduce future cyber threats.
• Stephan Gehring: Principal Consultant at Incite Insight
Stephan will share his knowledge based on 35 years’ experience within the sector around compliance processes and implementation, data protection and cyber security.
• Jen Williams: Head of IT at Lawyer Checker
Jen is an undeniable advocate for solutions pertaining to cyber security. Her positive work in the industry positions her as an expert in preventative methods for cyber security.
Throughout the webinar the panel will discuss three key points: how law firms can protect themselves and prevent threats, damage limitation to a firm’s reputation in the event of an attack and how to remain compliant and avoid regulator fines if cyber security is breached.
Tom Lyes, Director of Engagement at Lawyer Checker will be hosting the event. He said:
“Bringing together these legal industry experts on one panel is an unmissable event for partners and IT professionals of UK law firms.
“Alarming statistics from UK Action Fraud show there has been a 400% rise in pandemic related phishing since March last year. We know that hackers are opportunists that will not think twice about holding a law firm to ransom as unfortunately we have seen in many recent media reports. A recent study showed that 88% of fee earners did not understand the term ‘ransomware’ demonstrating education and action is the key to prevention in the legal sector.”
David Fazakerley, In-House Legal CIO at CTS said:
“Even before the pandemic and lockdown, ransomware and phishing attacks were on the rise and becoming more sophisticated. The threat actors and cyber criminals have pounced quickly on the additional vulnerabilities that exist with people working from home and more flexibly. The threats have increased but the fundamental tenets of how to respond and deal with the threats remain the same, that is that the “people factor”, not technology, are the most vulnerable targets. With office-based training not as accessible as it once was, firms must redouble their efforts to educate, coach and train better behavioural habits and must innovate on how this coaching is delivered to staff at home. As for technical and procedural defence, three simple principles remain; block the threat, if the block fails, limit the threats’ ability to do harm, if harm is done, have a business continuity plan and disaster recovery ready to invoke and recover quickly. I look forward to exploring these themes with our panel and our guests.”
This article was submitted to be published by Lawyer Checker as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer
