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- Secure Your Firm’s Data
- Security Resource Constraint – A Modern Problem for Legal Presented by Frontline Managed Services & Arctic Wolf
- Virtual Lunch & Learn: Top Tools Law Firms Can Leverage to Work Seamlessly From Anywhere
- 5 Security Measures Law Firms Must Have
- About Frontline
- Admin Training Videos
- Administrative Managed Services
- Application & Technologies
- Arctic Wolf
- Baseline Assessment Review
- Calendar
- Careers
- Client Training Videos
- Contact
- Contact Thank You
- Events
- Financial Managed Services
- Frontline Home
- Frontline Home
- Insights
- IQTrack
- iRIS
- IT Managed Services
- App Development for Law Firms | Frontline Managed Services
- Cybersecurity Services for Law Firms | Frontline Managed Services
- Help Desk
- IT Administration Services for Law Firms | Frontline Managed Services
- IT Engineering Services for Law Firms | Frontline Managed Services
- IT Legal Operations Powered by ServiceNow
- Managed IT Services Solutions
- Network Monitoring Services for Law Firms | Frontline Managed Services
- Legal Cybersecurity: How to Protect Your Firm Against Rising Threats
- Litigation Services
- Login
- Office in a Box
- Press
- Privacy Policy
- Safeguard Your Law Firm: Key Steps for Law Firms to Implement and Maintain Effective Security Policies
- Skillbuilder
- System Status
- Webinars
- #5823 (no title)
- 4 Ways Law Firms are Saving Billable Time and Increasing Cash Flow Through Automation
- 8 Critical Aspects of Cybersecurity Training for New Law Firm Employees
- 8 Phishing Strategies Hackers Use to Infiltrate Your Law Firm
- Effective eBilling Solutions for Law Firms
- Increase Profitability and Free Up Billable Time by Optimizing Your Cash Cycle
- Is Your Backup Protecting Your Firm’s Data? 4 Critical Aspects of a Successful Disaster Recovery Plan
- Looking Ahead While Looking Back: Best Practices Road Map for A/R in 2023
- Maintaining A/R Stability During Crisis Instability
- Mobile Devices & Social Media – Discovery Considerations for ESI Preservations
- Optimizing the Client Intake to Cash Process: Best Practices to Maximize Firm Profits
- People, Process, and Technology in a Work from Home Environment
- Ransomware Realities
- Secure Your Firm’s Data
- Security Resource Constraint – A Modern Problem for Legal Presented by Frontline Managed Services & Arctic Wolf
- Virtual Lunch & Learn: Top Tools Law Firms Can Leverage to Work Seamlessly From Anywhere
Cybersecurity for Law Firms: Crafting Secure Passwords
Phishing, malware and ransomware attacks on legal professionals are on the rise. Strong passwords are essential for attorneys working with sensitive, private client information. Crafting strong passwords isn’t as hard as it may seem. We spoke with Paul Telesco, our VP of Technical Services, about how lawyers can create passwords that will keep their data secure. Here’s we recommend these law firm cybersecurity guidelines.
In your experience working with law firms to provide cybersecurity solutions, how would you gauge most lawyers’ savviness when it comes to creating safe passwords?
In my experience providing law firm cybersecurity solutions, most lawyers are vigilant and understand the role that good passwords play in the overall security and protection of data. However, many are focused on keeping data easily accessible, especially when the firm doesn’t have password policies or special password technology in place. This is when simple, short and easily hacked passwords are created, putting data at risk. Efficiency is important, but a security breach caused by a weak password is not worth the headache or significant cost it will entail.
What makes for a ‘bad,’ unsafe password?
If a password lacks complexity, change it. Avoid using easily researched information such as birthdays, graduation years and children’s names.
What makes for a safe password?
Safe passwords are only used for one set of credentials and cannot be easily guessed. Length is of the utmost importance. I recommend using at least 16 characters.
I also highly recommend creating a passphrase. Passphrases are like passwords but longer and more secure, using a phrase with spaces. Although hard for criminals to hack, many people find passphrases easier to remember. The phrase can be anything from song lyrics to a random statement such as, “I Love My Pasta Al Dente,” if you happen to be an Al Dente pasta lover. That unique phrase alone would take a botnet about 60 septillion years to crack. Remember, the passphrase doesn’t have to be a proper sentence or grammatically correct.
What advice do you give your clients when creating complex but easy-to-remember passwords?
I always recommend using a password management tool. With password management tools, you only need to remember one password or passphrase to gain access to all other passwords. Then you can assign unique, long and complex passwords for all other login credentials and the password manager will remember and automatically input the passwords when needed.
While there are many great password management tools and programs to choose from, I recommend one that has a mobile app and includes multi-factor authentication.
What other tips do you typically give regarding password protection?
Beware of phishing e-mails that attempt to trick you into giving away your password. Cyber criminals often send convincing e-mails asking for the recipient’s login credentials. Always check the sender’s name and e-mail address closely for anything that looks suspicious. Never log into an account through an e-mail. Only log into an account from its official site.
What password trends do you foresee for the future?
We are headed towards the elimination of the traditional password. Some of the biggest tech influencers, like Google and Microsoft, have options for authentication without traditional passwords. These new types of multi-factor authentication will include factors such as a possession factor, (hardware that you own like a mobile device) and an inherent, or biometric factor (scanning your fingerprint or face).
Here’s Paul’s recommended law firm cybersecurity guidelines. For more information on how to protect client data, contact us.
Paul Telesco is the VP of Technical Services for Frontline Managed Services. He is passionate about transforming old and broken technology systems into powerful and productive technology environments. Paul holds multiple industry certifications including: Project Management Professional (PMP), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Routing and Switching, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Security, and Certified SonicWALL System Administrator (CSSA).