DOWNT0BUSINESS
To learn more about how you can prepare your law firm for the digital age , consider attending PILMMA ’ s Internet Domination Virtual Bootcamp in September 2022 . www . pilmma . org / internetbootcamp . Cyber security will be one of the hot topics covered at this year ’ s virtual event .
By Ken Hardison IS YOUR LAW FIRM SAFE FROM CYBER ATTACKS ?
At our most recent PILMMA Mastermind meetings , one of our members shared that his law firm had just been subject to a ransomware attack . The culprits locked down all their firm ’ s data and demanded a $ 950,000 ransom to release the law firm ’ s data ! As you can imagine , this was extremely disruptive to the entire law firm and frightening . Fortunately , the law firm was prepared ; They had previously secured cyber-attack insurance that protected them from taking almost a million-dollar hit , but it still did not stop them from losing valuable time and money having to deal with this unfortunate event .
Cyber security attacks have been on the rise in recent years as the Internet has become such an integral part of our lives . More law firm employees are working remotely , some via the cloud and others independently . Law firms , like other businesses , are conducting more and more business online . The opportunities for cyber hackers abound and continue to grow . In the wake of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine , cyber security concerns in the U . S . are at an all-time high .
According to the Consumer Sentinel Network ’ s annual data book , over 75,000 incidences of privacy , data security and cyber threat-related scams were reported in 2020 . Likewise , a 2020 report from the Internet Crimes Complaint Center revealed that they receive over 440,000 reports of Internet-related crimes each year .
Just last month , a federal lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida by United Parcel Service , Inc , against a personal injury law firm , The Haggard Law Firm , ( 1:22-cv- 21049 ) as a result of settlement money that had been cyberhacked . The law firm had gotten a successful settlement against UPS for their client ’ s personal injuries , and UPS ’ s counsel made
18 x The Trial Lawyer