Increasing Client Requirements: Securing Law Firms for the 21st Century

The frequency of client-initiated audits has increased dramatically over the last five years. In 2013, Frandzel received its first audit; it was one page long and consisted of seven questions. In 2018, the firm received five audits. All were greater than one hundred pages in length. The longest one included over seven hundred questions. All of the inquiries seek documented information security policies, incident response plans and business continuity plans. Vulnerability scans of networks are required on a monthly basis, with classification and inventory controls put in place immediately. Clients seek annual security awareness and phishing defense training for all staff. The most consistent change is a requirement that the firm conduct substantial employee background checks for every new hire.

Information Security Policies

Developing one security policy for all clients is far simpler than answering every question individually. This practice also provides the firm and its third party vendors with guidelines to adhere to. These policies become a firm's bible to follow with regards to information technology security. They include general information on security management standards, classification and controls, information users, guidelines for personnel and physical security.

1. Information Security Policies. These identify: 1) the firm's Information Security Manager (ISM), the person responsible for your information technology; 2) how to manage sensitive information; and 3) who can access what in your firm.
2. Classification and Control. This describes the fundamentals of information security, including a description of the information you maintain and how is it classified (i.e., private, sensitive, restricted or confidential).
3. Information Users. In most cases, the human factor is a firm's greatest risk. Password standards, workstation security and automatic screen protection, end-of-day log off requirements, unusual behavior detection, mobile device protection, good judgment policy and most importantly, training all come into play.
4. Physical Security. Having physical controls in place helps staff follow standards with regards to securing visitors and physical rooms. Educating staff regarding visitor policies, such as keeping a log with the visitor's name, date, purpose of visit and physically keeping all server rooms locked, also aid in security. These are standard requirements and commonly considered basic controls today.

Incident Response Plan

This documents your organization's formal response plan in preparation for a breach. Requirements in this area vary widely. Clients frequently dictate policy inclusions such as maximum notification times, specific contacts, and general best practices. Regardless of whether client requirements exist, general best practices include developing these procedures today. It is common for these policies to include some or all of the following:

1. Names of your incident response team and key clients and the numbers you need to call if an incident occurs;
2. The name of your key resources needed to maintain or resume operations;
3. Procedures for various incidents;
4. Inventory of all hardware;
5. Inventory of all software;
6. Inventory of connectivity vendors;
7. Inventory of critical IT documents;
8. Location of data;
9. Location of passwords; and
10. Inventory of vital business records.

Business Continuity Plans

A growing best practice is to combine both business continuity and incident response plans into a single document. They are of equal importance and tend to contain similar information. Whether it's a breach, fire, earthquake, etc., you will need to follow documented plans of action equally. The primary focus is to ensure operability of technology resources without interruption to minimize loss of revenue. Properly documented and tested plans will enable your firm to remain standing.