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BLENDED FORMS OF PROTECTION
Dawn Cash-Salau, president of Escrow Consulting & Ac- counting, LLC in Cedar Point, NC told me, “Proper oversight and timely reconciliations will help detect the fraud, after the fact. However, being proactive in protecting trust funds can help avoid the loss of time and money to recover funds already stolen and can further ensure compliance with state bar rules and regulations.”
At a bare minimum, law firms should commission an annual security risk assessment con- ducted by an outside source.
Firms should also employ a blend of reactive and proactive measures, such as two-factor authentication and user training on the do’s and don’ts of cyber- safety.
We use the term cybersafety to de ne a comprehensive layering of up to twenty-two cybersecu- rity and IT service management protocols. Most of the layers are patented technologies. In a global contest, black and white hat hack- ers have thus far never pierced all layers. at’s why I call it the Petronella Unhackable Cyber- safety Stack.
An IBM Threat Intelligence Index Report revealed that employees induced 95% of all breaches due to combination of incomplete configuration of their desktop computers and mobile devices, weak passwords, lack of two-factor authentication (where the user must provide at least two unique pieces of infor- mation to login), visiting unsafe websites, etc.
Because a hacker can compro- mise any computer, smartphone, voice-controlled device such as Amazon Alexa, or smart home “Internet of Things” devices (smart thermostats, doorbells, light dimmers, refrigerators), the state of cyberhacking now requires business owners, espe- cially law firms that handle fi-
nancial information of clients, to implement a full-spectrum data and system prophalix. This starts with training and certification of all users in your business.
STRICTER CYBERSECURITY INSURANCE
Most large insurance carriers offer cybersecurity and breach insurance. In the past, they al- lowed firms to do a self-assess- ment questionnaire.
They would then trust that the firms were following the securi- ty protocols they said there were doing. But that has become to change ... rapidly.
Insurance carriers have be- come much stricter as to what security steps you must have in place to qualify for cyber insur- ance.
Dr. Aleksandr Yampolskiy, CEO of SecurityScorecard, a leading security rating company said, “Cybersecurity insurers faced with growing demands and looking for new ways to measure their risks so they are moving more towards more carefully scrutinizing the cyber- security postures of their poten- tial clients.”
Cybercriminals continue to “innovate”atarateandlevelof sophistication that is breathtak- ing. Business owners must not only protect their employees and assets from physical harm, they must extend similar protection to their digital systems and the data that those systems contain.
In the past, it was enough to install and update malware ap- plications from Symantec or X. Those days are long gone.
CRAIG A. PETRONELLA IS THE CEO OF PETRONEL- LA TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC., A WELL-KNOWN CYBERSECURITY GROUP THAT SPECIALIZES IN HELPING LAW FIRMS WITH SECURITY AND COM- PLIANCE. PETRONELLA TECHNOLOGY GROUP ASSISTS BUSINESS OWNERS IN REDUCING THE IMPROPER HANDLING OF PERSONABLE IDENTI- FIABLE INFORMATION AND PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION, FINES FOR BREACHED REGULA- TIONS, AND CYBER-FRAUD. HIS TEAM ALSO PRO- VIDES A RANGE OF COST-EFFECTIVE BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY SOLU- TIONS. CRAIG HAS 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. HE HAS AUTHORED MULTIPLE BOOKS, INCLUDING “HOW HACKERS CAN CRUSH YOUR LAW FIRM” AND “PEACE OF MIND COMPUTER SUPPORT.” FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT A CYBER- CRIME RISK ASSESSMENT CALL 1 (877) 468-2721.
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