Law firms are increasingly being sued for not doing enough to keep their clients’ data safe from cyberattacks.
Already this year, a handful of the nation’s largest and most prestigious law practices have been sued.
“Law firm security is on everyone’s radar right now,” according to Bloomberg Law. “News of data breaches at prominent firms has become close to a weekly occurrence.”
Lawyers have become Number One Targets for cybercriminals because of the treasure trove of data in their offices.
“Whatever drawer you open, you will find something top secret and valuable,” says one cybersecurity expert in the Bloomberg Law article. “This area is ripe for litigation.”
Cyberattacks worldwide rose 7 percent in the first quarter of 2023, according to this report from Checkpoint Research. Organizations of all types faced an average of 1,248 attacks a week. One of every 40 of these attacks targeted a law firm or insurance provider.
Read the Checkpoint Research 1Q 2023 Cyber Report here.
More than a quarter of law firms in a 2022 American Bar Association survey said they had experienced a data breach, up 2% from the previous year.
Lawsuits have been filed this year against Bryan Cave, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Smith, Gambrell & Russell and two smaller firms—Cohen Cleary and Spear Wilderman. The lawsuits allege the firms didn’t sufficiently guard against the possibility of cyberattacks. The suits against Cadwalader and Smith Gambrell were subsequently dropped.
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