The Law Gazette has reported on a warning by a former assistant US attorney that UK law firms must strengthen their online security in order to protect their clients from the threat of cyber crime.
Seth Berman is a former assistant US attorney and director of Stroz Friedberg, a digital risk management and investigations firm. He warns that:
“The security and risk landscape is changing rapidly and it’s the very nature of law firms that makes them an active target. We’re facing an increasingly sophisticated array of adversaries, which makes it more important than ever for firms to recognise the severity of such threats.”
The warning comes as reports emerge of the theft of six million LinkedIn passwords by a hacker, which gains possible access to credit card details.
Mr Berman added that there is a growing concern over the use of social networks aimed at professional users, which could be hacked into to gain information, before phishing attacks are used. As phishing emails become more elaborate they are being used to gather commercially sensitive information from law firms.
Seth Berman went on to comment:
“There is no doubt most law firms recognise their obligations and have taken steps to shield client data. But the sector is unusual in the way it deals with information, which sees personal details of individual partners, associates and lawyers readily available on firms’ websites.”
The news of the hacking of passwords for major websites should put all on their guard against phishing, for both personal and commercial information.
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