DATA: law firms that fail to protect sensitive information could go out of business


Law firms that fail to take information security seriously could go out of business, a leading management consultant warned last week as the Law Society launched draft guidelines at the conference to help practices protect themselves.



One of the main reasons solicitors need to update their ways, the information security guidelines say, is because 'the need to secure global electronic communications and new domestic IT-supported business processes, including electronic conveyancing, electronic court filing and electronic links between the Legal Services Commission and its suppliers, will mean that information security will continue to be an important issue for firms of all types and sizes for the foreseeable future'.



Julian Boardman-Weston, chairman of the Society's electronic law committee, told a workshop on IT security that the normal response in some law firms to security threats was 'to become very scared but to do nothing'. Much better, he said, 'to be less scared and to do something'.



The impact on law firms if they do not take information security much more seriously could be disastrous, he said. 'If your technology isn't trustworthy and reliable, you will be at a disadvantage compared to your competitors. I believe if people get it wrong enough, then they will go out of business.'



Every member of the workshop's panel emphasised the potential damage to the reputation of firms that allow security to lapse.



Detective Sergeant Paul Wright of the City of London Police's hi-tech crime unit warned that as smaller firms do more of their work on-line they will increasingly become targets for on-line criminals. A proactive approach, he said, will be the way to 'make a difference', and he called for firms to implement best practice-led information security policies.



In a statement Desmond Hudson, the Law Society's chief executive for representation, said: 'All solicitors need to be up to date on IT security. The supply and demand for legal e-business continues to rise at the same time as on-line threats are both increasing and becoming more targeted. The Law Society's objective is to develop information security guidelines tailored to the needs of all solicitors.'



Rupert White