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Ransomware threat: what firms should be doing

Data breaches are becoming a growing concern for law firms. Cybercriminals are aware that firms often store important client identification documents and financial details — but their cybersecurity is not always as secure as it perhaps should be.

In October this year, the offshore law firm Appleby confirmed that it had been the victim of a ‘data security incident’ in 2016, which eventually resulted in the leak of 13.4 million documents last month and is the subject of an investigation by 100 media groups. Appleby added that the leak was carried out by a professional computer hacker, and not an employee at the firm. While the prospect of a data breach poses a serious threat, it is also hackers’ methodology which is also a profound concern for law firms.

Ransomware is rapidly becoming a common line of attack for cybercriminals – the process of using malicious software that blocks access to a company’s data and is accompanied by a financial demand, threatening to delete everything unless the organisation pays up. According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigation report, ransomware was previously the 22nd most common form of malware in 2014, but it is now the fifth most common because it is quick, low-risk and lucrative.

For some advice on how law firms can enhance their cybersecurity, and stave off a ransomware attack — check out the full article on the Thomson Reuters Practical Law Business Crime Blog.

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