Law firms can learn from other industries’ missteps on cybersecurity awareness and prevention

A recent ABA article addresses the need for law firms to take seriously the need to protect data.  In the past few years, these companies experienced some of the most significant data breaches to date. And all of these companies found themselves subject to intense worldwide media coverage over their failure to secure their information.  The industries affected—from health care to entertainment—know all too well that the struggle to secure data in the digital age never ends. While individual businesses within these industries will continue to find themselves vulnerable to breaches, they have an advantage over law firms. They have been fighting this battle for a long time.  The legal industry is lagging well behind when it comes to data security, says Rich Santalesa, a member of the boutique cybersecurity firm SmartEdgeLaw Group and of counsel to the New York City-based Bortstein Legal Group.  “Law firms as a whole can learn a lot about cybersecurity by looking at other industries,” says Santalesa. “Unfortunately, other industries have had to learn their lessons the hard way—by having breaches that have received media attention.”

Read the full article:  http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/law_firms_cybersecurity_awareness_prevention/P1