In 2015, PwC’s annual law firm survey reported that 62% of law firms had been the victim of a cyber attack in the past year, while the Information Commissioner’s Office reported that the number of data breaches in the legal sector had increased by almost a third between 2015 and 2016. However, Legal Week’s 2013 Benchmark survey showed only 35% of firms had a response plan for attacks. A key problem, says Wright, is the “haphazard development” of firms’ IT systems, which often have “inherent problems” and lack strategic security plans. Firms also often worry, he says, that clients, who “they are beholden to,” will dislike like less convenient encrypted solutions. According to a 2016 government cyber security report, “law firms may represent the weakest link in the chain to reach their clients’ data,” and cyber criminals are increasingly viewing the legal sector as a “vulnerable and profitable industry.” Read more at Business Insider.
