The Law Society is urging firms to be vigilant to cyber attacks.
This comes after the recent information security breaches survey by PwC that found that the cost of information security breaches has almost doubled over the last year. The Law Society has launched a cyber hub providing advice on how to avoid attacks and brings together useful items on cyber security.
While cyber attacks are a threat to all businesses, law firms are particularly attractive sources of information, according to the society. The Information Security Breaches Survey 2014, commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) found that 81 per cent of large organisations suffered a security breach costing between £600,000 and £1.15m, while 60 per cent of small businesses reported a breach, costing between £65,000 and £115,000 on average.
Law Society technology policy adviser, Timothy Hill, urges firms to join the government’s Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP), so as to exchange cyber threat information and receive support from analysts. Membership of CISP is free and the Law Society can sponsor firms to join.
He says: ‘With cyber attacks now one of the greatest threats to UK security, it is important that firms work together in sharing information to make businesses more secure. To help facilitate that, we have launched an information hub for all developments in this area. The Law Society working with government and other professional bodies to develop a range of measures to help firms minimise the threat of attack from hackers. Despite the growing impact of cyber attacks law firms will continue to protect their clients and their own reputations by implementing effective cyber security controls.’
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