With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, more law firms have their attorneys and other personnel working from home – with sensitive cases. Personal and financial data are being passed back and forth between various home computers on unsecured networks. To a certain extent, this is necessary, but it also represents a data breach waiting to happen.
Research shows that home networks were 3.5 times more likely than corporate networks to be infiltrated by at least one malware family and more than 7.5 times more likely to be infected by at least FIVE distinct types of malware. BitSight found that home networks were 20 times more likely than enterprise networks to be infected by especially malicious malware, such as Mirai, which was the culprit behind massive denial-of-service attacks in 2016.
The same BitSight study found that 25 percent of devices connected to home networks, including PCs, printers, and smart home components, had one or more services exposed on the internet. About 45 percent of all devices on home networks were infected with at least one piece of malware.
The core mission of SMI Aware is conducting internet investigations and gathering sensitive information. The research we conduct can make or break some of the biggest class-action lawsuits. One recent example is a 2019 case where we gathered information on more than 5,000 subjects for fraud. Bottom line – our work must be compliant with strict ISO 27001 and 27002 data requirements.
If your law firm has remote office staff conducting internet investigations involving sensitive case information or personal client data, don’t wait until a data breach puts your firm in legal jeopardy. Read more about our process to learn about how we can conduct accurate internet research while assuring the security of your data. Contact us for a free report so you can see the SMI Aware difference for yourself.