Cybersecurity webinar leads the Florida lawyers to protect corporate data from a violation – the Bar Florida Bar

Cybersecurity webinar leads the Florida lawyers to protect against corporate data

Not paying attention to cyber security, lawyers can suspend the risk of violating their ethical responsibilities and moving against state, federal and international laws

Within the past three weeks, three cyber attacks have achieved criminals of 1.5 billion US dollars of buybits digital assets, delayed the salary checks of 1,300 employees of the US Coast Guard and closed an emergency room in Ithaca, New York.

Even more for the lawyers in Florida is an ABA cyber security report in which it was found that 29% of the law firms experienced a form of security violations in 2023.

Repository's highly sensitive data, from the intellectual property of a company to the hippa protected hospital files of a customer, law firms are the main goals, assures Miami Insurance Lawyer and “Cyber ​​Claims Professional” Kevin Nesslage.

“The most common claim that is paid is for business e -mail compromises,” he says. “It is a terrible experience if not ruinous to tell all their customers that they have lost their data.”

Nesslage organized a free online seminar on Thursday: “Cyber ​​security -protection of your law firm before a cyber violation occurs.”

The one-hour, one-hour midday Cle sponsored by cybersecurity and the data protection law committee is intended to help the lawyers to understand and protect their practices.

The presentation was approved by the Florida Bar for (1) General and (1) Technology -Cled credit. Course No. 8561

Two of the colleagues from Nesslage presented – lawyer and risk management consultant Henry Ortiz and Tallahasee Government Lawyer Adam Hubbell, a data protection expert who worked in large and small companies.

All three offer CVs with an alphabet soup of initials that mean several IT certifications.

But the good news, emphasized that the CLE is geared towards the 70% of the members of Florida Bar, which are solo and small festivals and have no cyber expertise.

“I hope we can deliver some implementable insights and keep the cyberjargon on a minimum,” joked Hubble.

The first of several planned tutorials focuses on the first steps to become cybersecure.

Not to pay attention to cyber security, lawyers can suspend the risk of violating their ethical responsibilities and moving against state, federal and international laws.

For example, the violation of the “general data protection regulations of the European Union” or the GDPR can lead to a fine of up to $ 25 million.

The law of Florida makes everyone who collects data from the public, certain notification requirements in the event of a data injury.

There are other risks, Hubbell assures.

“Financial loss, fines, misconduct, but loss of reputation, which is really difficult to quantify, is one of the greatest.”

Lawyers do not have to be cyber security experts, but they have to be able to prove that they take their cyber security responsibility seriously, said Ortiz.

“At the moment we have been adhered to the appropriate standard standard,” he said. “What would a reasonable lawyer do to protect the confidential information of its customers?”

At the beginning, Ortiz recommends that the digital assets of the company take into account and prioritize security measures based on how well the company could work if they were crippled by an attack.

“Get a piece of paper and a cup of coffee,” he says. “Think of your brand” and create a list.

At Brand, Ortiz means domain, website, e -mail, telephones, social media and marketing.

To determine which is the highest priority, you should “How long are you ready to do without this information?”

If a fixed website fails, it can be easily converted, says Ortiz. However, there is even more to be taken into account when prioritizing this value value.

Does the public only inform about the lawyers and practical areas?

“In my opinion, this is not a wealth that you want to prioritize,” he said. “If you can afford to protect every asset, continue it and do not priority.”

Or does the website offer more functions?

“Is it a website that establishes a connection to client data? Is it a website on which you can collect payments? Absolutely.”

The trust account of a law firm is often the greatest capital, said Ortiz.

However, a lawyer should not assume that the bank took the corresponding cyber security measures, he warns.

“You cannot send your IT employees to install a firewall for the bank,” confirmed Ortiz. “But we write the bank a note, we are all lawyers and we make it clear that we rely on the fact that we protect this asset.”

Consider map the data from where you enter the company's possession until the involvement of the presentation after the end of the presentation, says Ortiz.

Also: “How do you ensure this information between several law firms?”

Cloud storage is often recommended for lawyers, but you should remember that “every digital asset has an owner,” said Ortiz.

Does the Cloud storage provider consider himself the owner of the data?

“Do not sign a monthly fee regulation with a seller without asking.”