Many law firms already had remote work policies in place. All employees were fully equipped to work from home with the same set-up they had in the office, including dual monitors, webcams, and of course secure lines of file sharing and communication.
Only about one-third of America can work from home in ways that are productive. They comprise about 45% of the country’s wages. At the same time, the demand for lawyers has never been higher. Some firms have even organized coronavirus task forces.
A few of the forward-leaning firms were already set up so that their teams could work from home. All their internal and client-facing documents are on a secure cloud-based platform. Don’t feel bad if your firm isn’t one of them. Many law practices don’t fall into that category. There’s a strong reliance on file sharing and video conferencing. Collaboration tools like Microsoft 365’s TEAMS do a great job in both capacities. That’s why we included it in our services. And Microsoft TEAMS is a solid program. TEAMS uses its own encryption when it sends files.
Installing a good Virtual Private Network for the whole firm is a great step towards security. Let’s put that aside for now. Here are 3 solid recommendations for making your Internet communications more secure. And the good news, your staff can do these things immediately. They all have to do with securing a remote Wi-Fi. The first order of business. Check to see if a teleworker’s connections to the Internet are secure.
No Public Wi-Fi
Still, remote work raises security issues. Cyber hackers take advantage of personal devices and the lack of secure Wi-Fi.
Never use public Wi-Fi for conducting business or communication between colleagues or clients. This kind of traffic is being monitored by hackers all the time.
Use Personal Hotspots in Emergencies
If you’re in a pinch, better to use your personal hotspot. There are still security vulnerabilities, but not the same as using public Wi-Fi.
Secure Home Networks
It’s surprising to have to write this. But there are those who still don’t use this simple way of protecting their home network. Remote workers must secure their home Wi-Fi. Ensure the home network is password-protected. These passwords need to be complex made of at least 12 characters.
For more information about Microsoft Teams and how we can help, please call 1-888-753-5060