{"id":3011,"date":"2025-10-03T12:56:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T12:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itlawco.com\/?p=3011"},"modified":"2025-10-03T14:47:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:47:56","slug":"cybersecurity-awareness-month-practical-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itlawco.com\/fr\/cybersecurity-awareness-month-practical-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Practical tips lawyers can\u2019t afford to ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month<\/a>. Which, for most lawyers, means\u2026absolutely nothing. Until, of course, a client calls and says, \u201cWe think we\u2019ve been hacked\u2014and you\u2019re named in the emails.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawyers, after all, are the digital equivalent of Georgian townhouses: dignified fa\u00e7ades, oak-panelled chambers, brass nameplates\u2026and wooden doors with locks from 1843.<\/p>\n

The paradox of clever people doing silly things<\/h2>\n

Cybersecurity isn\u2019t about hackers in hoodies. It\u2019s about partners forwarding documents to their personal Gmail \u201cjust this once\u201d, juniors clicking on \u201cDocuSign\u201d links from princes, and firms using \u201cJoeSoap123\u201d because IT \u201cmade it too complicated\u201d.<\/p>\n

In fact, lawyers don\u2019t behave rationally, they behave reasonably<\/em>. And lawyers are very reasonable when they choose convenience over security. It\u2019s not laziness\u2014it\u2019s behavioural economics. The perceived benefit of shaving two minutes off their day outweighs the invisible risk of catastrophic loss.<\/p>\n

This month, try behavioural hacks, not just tech hacks<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Make it visible<\/strong>: Nobody\u2019s motivated by abstract risk. Tell a partner that \u201c<\/em>phishing is up 200%\u201d and they\u2019ll yawn. Tell them, \u201cIf you click this, opposing counsel gets your entire case strategy\u201d\u2014suddenly, attention.<\/li>\n
  2. Shrink the ask<\/strong>: Don\u2019t say: \u201cImprove cybersecurity\u201d. Say: \u201cEnable MFA on your email.\u201d Humans love small, one-click wins. Especially lawyers, who bill in six-minute increments.<\/li>\n
  3. Exploit ego<\/strong>: Partners hate looking foolish. Run a simulated phishing campaign and publish anonymised results at the partners\u2019 meeting. Nothing motivates like the fear of being \u201cthat guy\u201d.<\/li>\n
  4. Turn it into theatre<\/strong>: Put a big red \u201cReport Phish\u201d button in Outlook. It\u2019s like a fire alarm: the drama of pulling it is half the incentive.<\/li>\n
  5. Frame it as client service<\/strong>: Cybersecurity isn\u2019t about IT. It\u2019s about not losing your client\u2019s trust (and their business). Put it this way: \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t leave a sensitive documents on a caf\u00e9 table. Why would you leave it in an unencrypted inbox?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What lawyers should actually do this month<\/h2>\n