FEATURE


cybersecurityeurope PAGE 26


LAW FIRMS THAT HAVE SUFFERED FROM SECURITY INCIDENTS As the UK National Cyber Security


Centre (NCSC)’s Cyber Threat to UK Legal Sector 2018 report points out, the risk may be greater for law fi rms that advise ultra-sensitive clients or work in locations that are hostile to the UK. For example, fi rms acting for organisations that engage in work of a controversial nature, such as Life Sciences or the energy sector, may also be targeted by groups with a political or ideological agenda. The transition to off er legal services digitally will not only provide new opportunities, but also further avenues for malicious cyber exploitation, the NCSC notes. This leaves law fi rms athwart a three-way security nexus. First, they need to stay apprised of


the ways in which cyber has become an increasingly important factor in multiple aspects of commercial conduct and


engagement. Many


standard legal processes have acquired a cyber element, from employment contracts to corporate mergers and acquisitions, cross-border


standard inter-business contractual arrangement have acquired a cyber dimension. For example, SMEs


that


are seeking external funding will have to demonstrate that cyber security is totally integral to their business plan. Second, lawyers must now acquire


cyber expertise across a variety of special areas where their clients fi nd themselves on the sharp end of digital economy. As the importance of digital integrity has assumed a critical role in economic conduct, and governments seek to impress upon organisations their full regulatory responsibilities for cyber governance, IT security becomes increasingly ‘legalised’ (for want of a better term). The third – and most immediate –


exposure is that, as noted, fi rms that provide legal services are themselves


High-profi le incidents over 2017-2018, whereby law fi rms have been made victims of global ransomware attacks, highlighted the absolute importance of IT security defences in a post-GDPR world. Source: PwC.


83% TOP 10 TOP 11- 25 0% 59% TOP 26-50 8% 67% TOP 51- 100 0% 33%


YES NO


DO NOT KNOW 33% 0% 17% 69% 31%


increasingly targeted by a range of cyber threats. These range from criminals and state-sponsored agents to B2B fraudsters and insider threats (in 2017 33% of fi rms reported a security incident related to their own staff where there had been a loss or leakage of confi dential information, and this rose to 46% in 2018, PwC’s survey says). Key to cyber crime’s targeting of law fi rms is the fact that they


often hold sums of money on behalf of clients – as part of business funds transfer, bequest awards, or property conveyancing, for


trade to


digital rights management. Added to this, some aspects of


Law fi rms hold sensitive client information, and are key enablers in high-value commercial and business transactions, such as M&As.


example (although a shift toward so-called ‘digital vaults’, possibly based on blockchain models (see Cyber Security Europe, Spring 2019 issue) could help to de-risk this. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reported that more than £11m of client money was stolen due to cyber crime incidents in the 2016-2017 period. Phishing is the most common cyber attack directed at law fi rms, and is most prevalent in areas of practice such as conveyancing. A June 2018 survey of law fi rm by the Law Society showed that approximately 80% of practices polled reported phishing attempts on their staff had occurred in the preceding 12 months. As a result, many of the UK’s pan-European legal fi rms – like


Bird & Bird, DWF, DLA Piper, Fieldfi sher, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Steptoe, and others, for example – have established specialist regional partners to deal with cyber requirements.


ACCREDITATION Words | Jim Meyers Photography | Shutterstock


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