Prepare for cyberattacks with secure document process
The legal profession is a prime target for cyberattacks, never more so than in the current era of hybrid work. Firms must focus business attention on the finer points of both digital and physical document journeys, says TA Triumph-Adler
As law firms strive to innovate their legal service solutions, while keeping up with the new and changing regulations implemented by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), finding the right technology to enhance administrative processes and ensure financial and technology security is paramount.
Surveying internal systems and automations is a great place to start; ensuring systems can securely automate workflows within the workplace is essential for efficiency and profitability and can be achieved with the right artificial intelligence (AI) without breaking the bank. Individual law firms need trusted experts to advise on the products and solutions available, and how to implement them to establish secure and efficient workflows.
Whilst many recognise the need to ensure email, computers and networks are protected from security threats, printing infrastructure can often be overlooked. This can leave the digital trajectory of scanned and printed documents unprotected, as well as the physical output.
If document workflows are set up with the individual business needs in mind, secure scanning, printing and storage of confidential information should be achievable within a few clicks. Workflows can be put in place to ensure that documents are only released under certain circumstances, or that scans are saved in a specific secured location. This helps to prevent unauthorised personnel from retrieving confidential information digitally — or the physical documents.
These challenges have been magnified with the increase in flexible working locations, with many people working from home or travelling. Considering where documents are sent if they press ‘print’ is just as important, potentially more so, than it is for those in the office who can actively go to the device and collect the document.
With mounting pressure on law firms to adopt stringent client identity verification, source-of-funds checks and sanctions screening processes, ensuring similar levels of automation in administrative processes is the key to success.
The industry has recently been warned of an increase in cyberattacks, with the SRA highlighting that 75% of firms assessed by the Cyber Security Thematic Review had been the target of a cyberattack [1]. Storage servers are frequently targeted, which makes archiving a particular focus for law firms. Many are moving to cloud-based solutions in the hope of ensuring greater security. The SRA has advised that failure to implement safeguards to protect firms and their clients may not only trigger regulatory sanctions, but also make it challenging to acquire professional indemnity insurance to cover cyber-related claims.
As experts in the managed print landscape, TA Triumph-Adler has the knowledge and tools available to assess individual business needs and evaluate the different solutions available to make those processes more streamlined and secure. Our aim is to make day-to-day processes as easy as possible while ensuring all print data is effectively managed and secure.
References
[1} National Cyber Security Centre cyber threat report, UK legal sector: www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/Cyber-Threat-Report_UK-Legal-Sector.pdf
