Technology

Just when you thought your law practice was cyber-safe, along comes a slew of new online scams involving typosquatting and combosquatting. Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking, relies on user mistakes – such as making a simple typographical error when entering a URL into an internet browser – t… Read More +

You probably don’t leap from bed every morning thinking about data governance. But if you don’t have a grasp of the basic principles of data governance, you’re putting your practice at risk. “Data governance is a subset of information governance,” writes legal tech expert Hans Wi… Read More +

Lots of things can go wrong on a Zoom call, and the most serious mishaps are usually self-inflicted. A case in point comes from Chicago, where an unmuted attorney uttered profanity and a racist slur while waiting for her client to appear on a Zoom call. The judge and others on the call heard the comments. The… Read More +

Here’s a risk management reminder: careless handling of a privileged communication can jeopardize its privileged status. This can include inadvertently showing, sharing or sending it to someone else by way of email. A cautionary tale is the California case of Fourth Dimension Software v. Der Touristik D… Read More +

We all know that hitting the “Reply all” button in an email can sometimes have embarrassing consequences. It might also imply consent – even if that’s not what you intend, according to a recent ABA ethics opinion. “Lawyers who copy their clients on emails and other forms of elect… Read More +

This year, ransomware attacks have seen a nearly 13 percent increase. That’s as big a jump as the last five years combined. In these attacks, cybercriminals have usually taken one of the following routes to gain access to the data in your computer system: Credentials, Phishing, Exploiting vulnerabiliti… Read More +

If you receive an email from a “Jacqui Salmon” purporting to be from the NC State Bar that requests information from you, delete it immediately. There is no such employee at the State Bar, and you’re being phished. On June 7, the State Bar placed the following warning on its website: We a… Read More +

Your worst nightmare has become reality: you discover your law firm database has been breached and sensitive information has been compromised. What’s the first thing you should do? If you had the foresight to prepare an Incident Response Plan – even if it’s just a single page of action ite… Read More +

Does your law firm have a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan? If not, how will you know what to do – and who to call – in the event of a cyber attack? “If you have no IRP, you are asking for a catastrophe – and one likely to make the headlines,” according to this post at Abov… Read More +

If you’re thinking of signing up for an online advertising service where you pay to get client leads, better read this proposed NC Bar opinion before you do. Under Proposed 2021 Formal Ethics Opinion 5, lawyers can’t ethically participate in a pay-per-lead program if the vendor records communicat… Read More +

The NC State Bar Grievance Committee has warned lawyers to expect “serious professional discipline” if they fail to take adequate protection against wire fraud scams. The warning appears in the Fall 2021 issue of the State Bar Journal and on the bar’s website. The full text of the “He… Read More +

Wire Fraud losses continue to plague real estate transactions, resulting in millions of dollars of losses around the country. The most common scenario is the buyer receiving altered wiring instructions. The State Bar is now holding the closing attorney accountable for this loss even though the closing attorney … Read More +

Artificial intelligence and robots in the law office might be hot topics at tech shows, but for the vast majority of lawyers, the reality is quite different. Only a miniscule number of firms are actually using AI-based tools in their practices – and that number is going down, not up. And almost one-qua… Read More +

Should you allow your remote workers to use unsecured, public Wi-Fi networks to conduct firm business? Should they only use laptops and mobile devices that have been approved by your IT team? Are you required to do due diligence into the data security practices and overall cyber-hygiene of tech vendors before… Read More +

With ransomware attacks disrupting everything from gasoline to hamburgers, it’s important to know the basics of social engineering and how to keep your firm safe. It’s all about education and training, starting with the fact that variations of social engineering have been around forever. “… Read More +