Five ways your firm can avoid malware threats

Apr 8, 2011 - by Randy Rosenberg

The Globe and Mail reported on April 6 2011 that four top law firms had fallen victim to cyber attacks originating from China:  Major law firms fall victim to cyber attacks

The attacks were aimed at stealing sensitive data related to high value mergers and acquisition transactions.  Hackers used email to pose as a partner working on the deal, and were able to embed attachments that contained malware, successfully infecting dozens of computers and comprising several sensitive documents.   To defend against this growing threat, many firms have chosen to take measures such as storing documents in secure third party facilities, and are realizing the benefits of secure online file sharing, known as cloud computing.

Sophisticated cloud computing solutions limit the opportunity for hackers or infected users to penetrate security layers and access confidential data.   Authorized end-users can view, upload, and change documents, but they are not able to run programs on the server - making malware based attacks impossible.

Law Firms Need to Rethink How They Protect Confidential Digital Assets

Mar 5, 2012 - by Phil Adrien

A law firm in Virginia, one of the latest victims in a string of cyber attacks against U.S. based law firms, is picking up the pieces after hackers infiltrated the firm’s e-mail system and released emails containing confidential information related to a high-profile case. With a clear message that law firms are a prime target for security attacks through their email systems, they need to rethink how they are storing and exchanging their most confidential digital assets.

According to a report at law.com, email is a common way to infiltrate a firm’s systems. Using a method called "spear phishing," an email that contains a link or attachment, arrives from someone who appears to be a trusted source. When opened the hacker has instant access to the recipient's computer and/or internal network. The same report noted that intrusions backed by state entities are increasing because information related to mergers and acquisitions is of great interest to state-sponsored agents.