Consider AVD because cybercrime still a threat

Security is a threat that never goes away – Nick Hayne, head of professional services at Quiss, details how Azure Virtual Desktop can give firms peace of mind.

Clients trust your firm with their most confidential information and it is valuable to criminals. While other issues have risen to the top of the agenda, the threat to law firms remains very real and as the biggest firms implement the latest security measures, mid-market firms become the target.

Few firms will ever publicise a successful ransomware attack, but various reports claim more than a quarter of law firms globally have experienced a form of data breach – the consequences of which could be immensely damaging financially and reputationally for any compromised firm.

There are a huge number of steps any firm can take to mitigate the risk – for starters, they can create and implement a data security policy that reflects the fact that major security issues often begin with simple user error, not a failure of technology.

The next most important step is to continuously warn everyone within the firm of the ongoing threat. Then train your people regularly to avoid accidental user errors and recognise the most common approaches from criminals, including phishing emails and fake webpages.

Never overlook the relatively simple and highly effective step of encrypting all your data, whether at rest or in motion. And spend time helping your people understand the need for strong passwords and how to create them.

You should also consider access control, as not everyone within your firm needs access to all your data and where it is stored – enforce the principles of ‘least privilege’ and ‘need to know’.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, plan for the worst-case scenario. Create and test a plan that details what your firm will do following a data breach. It should list all the immediate action steps, such as internal communication, changing passwords and reporting the incident to regulatory authorities.

Move to Azure Active Desktop and instantly improve your firm’s security

Of course your firm can take many of the practical steps highlighted above to improve security, but unless it’s a fully integrated approach, there always remains the risk your firm will miss a gap in your defences and that’s all the criminals need to damage your business – often irrevocably.

Switching all your firm’s users to Azure Virtual Dekstop (AVD) solves many security challenges and delivers the real peace of mind that allows people to concentrate on what they’re good at, rather than worrying about the gaps your firm has left that criminals can exploit.

AVD uses Azure Active Directory to provide secure access to virtual desktops and applications. It also supports multi-factor authentication, which helps prevent unauthorised access to your users’ virtual desktops and the firm’s applications.

AVD also uses encryption to protect data in transit and at rest, whilst the built-in threat protection helps prevent malware and other threats from infecting virtual desktops and applications.

Security monitoring and alerts are included as standard with AVD, to help identify potential security threats and take appropriate action. Your firm can also create a secure virtual network to isolate its virtual desktops and applications from other resources.

AVD provides automatic security patches and updates to help keep your virtual desktops and applications up-to-date and secure. Your firm also get the tools and resources to help assess and maintain compliance with various security standards and regulations.

Having read this far you should recognise, in a dangerous world full of cyber threats for the unwary or unprepared law firm, AVD is a great way to increase your firm’s security and Quiss will explain how – please get in touch today, the threat is real.