News

Cybercrime threat continues

12 April 2022

Law firms hold large amounts of money and control sensitive information. This makes them attractive targets for cyber-criminals.

We have long warned about the threats of cybercrime to the profession. You have an obligation to assess the risk based on the way you work, and take all reasonable steps to protect you and your clients.

This involves more than just buying the latest anti-virus software – it involves training staff and having a plan to deal with successful attacks. Firms that fail to do this on a regular basis are vulnerable, as our thematic review of cybercrime found out.

The National Crime Agency has produced flyers for both firms and their clients to warn of the dangers of different types of cybercrime. One looks at business emails, and challenges firms to look for the danger signs of emails being compromised. The other looks at conveyancing fraud and warns of the risk clients run of being taken in by a cyber-attack.

The conveyancing flyer is available in English and Welsh.

The business email flyer is also available in English and Welsh.

You can find out more on how to protect yourself, including advice from the National Cyber Security Council, on our cybercrime pages.

The Law Society too is carrying out work to eliminate the threat of cybercrime, and is currently running a survey on how to reduce risks when instructing chambers.