ediscovery

4 Common Data Security Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

11 January 2022 | Written by Imogen Fraser-Clark

Data security breaches are the stuff of not just nightmares, but also front page headlines – and that’s a whole lot of grief and bad publicity that you could do without.

Nowhere is this more true than in the legal sector, where confidentiality and the ability to effectively manage sensitive client information is vital to building trust – which is the lifeblood of business relationships.

In short, your levels of client service are dictated by your levels of data security.

If you don’t work on building super-strong foundational security protocols and procedures, your entire business framework can come crashing down around you.

This is true whether you’re part of a dedicated legal firm or in-house counsel for a business in another sector.

Unfortunately, many legal teams that suffer at the hands of a data breach often do so due to a number of common pitfalls.

We’ve compiled those pitfalls in this handy checklist, with additional details on what you can do to avoid them.

So read on if you want to fortify your data security practices and keep your business out of danger (and out of the headlines).

1. Thinking it won’t happen to you

It sounds obvious, but unfortunately, this is still one of the most common causes of critical data security breaches in eDiscovery projects.

Many legal teams neglect or overlook aspects of data security, thinking that cyberattacks are only a risk for large corporations, or firms working with financial institutions.

This is a dangerous assumption to make. And not only that, the truth is often a complete inversion of it.

Smaller legal teams are actually prime targets for hackers as they tend to be perceived as easier targets than larger companies, who are more likely to have robust data security protocols as standard.

The lesson here is: no one can afford to be more negligent than their peers. Cybercriminals target legal teams of all shapes, sizes and sectors.

If you think it can’t happen to you, it’s more likely that it will.