by Dan Pinnington

password

Cybercrime dangers are many, complex and ever-changing. Hardly a day goes by without another news report of a data breach or other cyber-related scam or theft. Cyber criminals have considerable resources and expertise, and can cause significant damage to their targets. Cyber criminals specifically target law firms as law firms regularly have funds in their trust accounts and client data that is often very valuable. LAWPRO encourages all law firms to make dedicated and ongoing efforts to identify and understand their potential cybercrime vulnerabilities, and to take steps to reduce their exposure to cyber-related dangers. This article, from the December 2013 issue of LAWPRO Magazine, reviews the specific cybercrime dangers law firms need to be concerned about, and how they can mitigate their risks.

Like the keys that start your car or open the front door of your home or office, computer passwords are the keys that “unlock” your computer, your mobile devices and access to all the data on your network systems. We all have more passwords than we can remember. This tends to make us a bit lazy. We use obvious and easy to remember passwords – even the word “password” itself. Or worse: We don’t use them at all.

Cyber criminals know and exploit bad password habits as they are often one of the weakest links in data security schemes. For this reason, it is critical that all lawyers and staff in a law office use passwords properly. The Tech Tip “Keeping your passwords strong and secure”, reviews the steps you can take to properly use and protect the confidentiality of your passwords, and how you can create passwords that are harder to guess or determine.

Categories: Fraud Prevention