Trust and confidentiality are the foundation of the legal profession. Whether it is the details of a client, firm correspondence, case specifics, or lead generation, people entrust their sensitive information to your law firm and expect to keep it confidential at all costs. However, with cyber-attacks on the rise, it has become critically important to fortify your law firm website with effective web security measures to ensure your client data remain safe from breach.
According to IBM’s 2016 data breach report, over 4000 cyber-attacks take place every day, which means that 170 websites are attacked every hour, and about 3 every minute. To protect your website, here are some measures you can take to secure it from cyber threats:
One of the easiest ways for a hacker to breach your website is to find loopholes in your server software. Most Content Management Systems (CMSs), such as WordPress, Joomla, and others, update their programs regularly and introduce new web security features to help you overcome vulnerabilities of your website. That is why it is essential you keep your plugins, themes, and CMS versions up-to-date always to at least have a basic defensive wall to protect your confidential data.
Having strong password security is key to ensuring a secure environment from outside threats, especially for systems with remote access functionality. If you firm has several employees, you should automate this process, and make it mandatory to change passwords across different access locations or at least once in every 30 days.
Clients should also be educated about the importance of changing passwords regularly of their account on your website to ensure secure exchange of information from both sides. Wherever possible, implement two-factor authentication to provide an added layer of protection and decrease the probability of breach.
An SSL certificate protects the information that is exchanged on your website. Since clients usually give confidential details of cases and other information to the attorney through the law firm’s website, this web security measure can prove to be effective. Another benefit is that the search engines give preference to websites with SSL certification, enhancing its SEO value as well as web security at the same time.
Your law firm can benefit from using cloud-based systems, which are equipped with stringent security tools and are capable of sustaining large cyber attacks. It is a good idea to have a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access data from your website and other online systems whenever you are accessing it from another location. Moreover, you should keep your VPN in the cloud that will help you minimize your costs incurred on purchasing local hardware, as well as put up another layer of protection by creating a secure connection.
If you want to learn more about web security and the best tools and techniques to protect your law firm website, we can help you. Contact FORWARD Marketing today at (888) 590-9687 to discuss your needs.
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