Cybersecurity is one of the biggest threats that law firms face today; they are the perfect target for a cyber attack due to the highly sensitive data and large amounts of client money handled every day. The latest technologies mean that a lot of the day-to-day operations of a law firm are conducted online, giving cybercriminals even more opportunity to conduct an attack.
In the first 6 months of 2020, law firms lost nearly £2.5 million of held client money to cyberattacks. This figure is three times higher than in the first half of 2019, showing a clear uptick in cyber-crime activity in the sector. To help combat these attacks, Lexcel 6.1 is recommending that all law firms become Cyber Essentials Certified.
What Is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a certification designed and backed by the UK Government. It offers a standard of cyber certification that ensures your business has the right IT security in place to protect from the most well known threats. With Cyber Essentials, you’ll be assured that the core bases of cyber security are covered for your law firm.
How Can Cyber Essentials Help Your Law Firm?
Last year, the Law Society updated Lexcel 6.1 to recommend that all law firms are certified through the Cyber Essentials scheme. This means that taking part in the scheme will support your Lexcel compliance and could be a requirement for your firm. Cyber Essentials is not just a compliance issue, but it also brings many benefits to your business. You and your team will learn to promote good cyber security hygiene and understand how you can work to better protect your assets and clients.
Having a Cyber Essentials certification also demonstrates to your clients that you are taking cybersecurity seriously. Consumers are more concerned than ever about the privacy of their data, and they’re choosing businesses that are taking a proactive approach to protect this. Investing to become Cyber Essentials Certified will improve the overall reputation of your law firm, showing stakeholders that you are up to date and on the ball when it comes to cyber security.
How Do I Get Cyber Essentials Certified?
Cyber Essentials is based on operational and practical technical measures as opposed to lengthy compliance processes and paperwork. The most basic level of Cyber Essentials requires you to give evidence that your law firm meets the 5 controls laid out in the guidance. Due to the technical nature of these controls, and the way the scheme application works, it should only be applied by someone that is familiar with Cyber Essentials.
How Can We Help?
Our experts have helped many businesses become Cyber Essentials certified and we offer both in-person or remote assistance for your application and assessment. We can work closely with your internal IT team or an outsourced provider to make sure that your application for Cyber Essentials is approved without a hitch. Our team has plenty of experience in the legal sector and are specialists in helping law firms become Cyber Essentials certified. To find out more, contact our experts today.