Best Cybersecurity Practices

The vulnerability of law firms and the magnitude of potential loss was highlighted late last year when hackers stole information about pending M&A deals from a number of firms and parlayed it into $4 million worth of insider trading profits. This Today’s General Counsel article, by Diligent Corporation’s Brian Stafford, provides an overview of the problem and suggests four best practices that can serve as the basis for addressing it. Among the suggestions is one that amounts to often overlooked low-hanging fruit: Implementing a secure email system. A survey of board members at major U.S. companies has found more than 30 percent are using a free email service provider (like Google or AOL), a practice the author calls “deeply concerning.” His best practice list also includes continuous education and training of employees, beyond the introduction typically given to new hires; explicit incentives for following protocols, including “BYOD” policies; and a well thought-out implementation of security technology.