If you run a law firm, chances are you know the drill. You’re about to get a new corporate client, and soon after you’ve signed your agreement, you get the dreaded cybersecurity questionnaire that’s so thorough you’re practically asked for your dental records. You don’t have an extensive IT department with time on their hands for this task. What do you do now?
Unfortunately, vetting third-party vendors and suppliers is vital to keeping your client’s systems safe. All that paperwork won’t be going away anytime soon. The good news is that there are ways to prepare for these reviews that can save you time and harden your security posture while you’re at it. Let’s talk about how.
Six Ways to Prepare for Law Firm Cybersecurity Audits
The key to preparing for an audit is to have a robust, regulation-ready cybersecurity framework already in place at your firm. When you’ve developed a responsible IT architecture, much of the paperwork, key performance indicators, and verifications you need will be automatically generated and easy to pull. The trick is getting all of those cybersecurity systems working well together in the first place.
This is why most cybersecurity experts don’t find these questionnaires so daunting. When you’re doing your cybersecurity job well, filling them out is a little time-consuming but straightforward.
Here are the steps we recommend for law firm cybersecurity audit preparedness.
#1—Identify your Key Stakeholders
Most cybersecurity questionnaires cover a wide range of topics, from cyber risk insurance to compliance and even the contractual obligations you’ve made to your customers and partners. Because of this, you may need to involve numerous stakeholders from within your organization, including IT, legal, compliance, and risk management, to ensure detailed and accurate answers.
Identify the people in those departments who will have the information you need and develop a rapport with them. They can help you find ways to expedite the information-gathering process regularly.
Whenever possible, consolidate the reports, questionnaire responses, and other relevant information in shared files or databases. This will make it easier to gather what you need for the questionnaires later.
#2—Up your Documentation Game
Documentation is one of the first things to go in the rush of running a firm and responding to daily IT duties and tickets. Don’t let this happen. Cybersecurity documentation can be your friend and pillar for your security best practices. With the right documentation, you can train your staff more easily, apply for cyber risk insurance, answer client questionnaires, and so much more.
Specifically, you’ll need:
- Cybersecurity policies—that tell your staff how your devices are supposed to be used and maintained. Common policies might include an AI Acceptable Use Policy, a Bring Your Own Device Policy, and many other overall rules for running your IT infrastructure.
- Cybersecurity plans—that outline your IT spending and implementations for the year.
- Cybersecurity procedures—that offer step-by-step instructions on how your cybersecurity operation is run. These written procedures are critical for team coordination, especially during an emergency or when training new IT vendors and employees.
- Patching and monitoring reports—that provide proof your updates are done, problems have been remediated, and your systems are healthy.
#3—Invest in Regular Penetration Testing
Penetration (PEN) Tests are coordinated cybersecurity tests that pit trained white hat hackers against your systems. It’s the fastest way to find the vulnerabilities in your information technology platforms and IT infrastructure overall. A reputable MSP or outside cybersecurity firm can create customized tests for your firm.
At the end of a thorough PEN test, you’ll know where your system’s weaknesses are and the cybersecurity awareness concepts your employees have yet to learn. You’ll get a long list of recommendations and remediations. But in the end, you’ll have a much stronger cybersecurity posture. Better yet, you’ll have written proof of your vigilance, which is crucial when filling out a client cybersecurity questionnaire.
#4—Create a Centralized Dashboard for All Your Documentation and Questionnaire Responses
If you’re working with a managed IT service provider, they can help you create a dashboard to view all your cybersecurity reports. They’ll also help you write all your cybersecurity plans, procedures, and policies. They can update them whenever there are changes to your IT operations, too.
In addition, you’ll also want to keep a record of all the cybersecurity questionnaires you’ve had to fill out for prospective clients. If you keep all this information in one centralized place, filling out your questionnaires will go faster the next time.
#5—Conduct Regular Cybersecurity Awareness Training for Everyone at Your Firm
Hackers constantly change tactics, and with AI’s advent, they no longer need coding expertise. Law firm data breaches are on the rise, so it’s critically important that everyone with access to your system understands the complex threats you face.
Fortunately, terrific cybersecurity awareness training programs are available online monthly. They are quick, scalable, and provide key information to keep your firm colleagues from falling for the latest spearfishing, social engineering, and more. Best of all, these programs are graded to ensure everyone understands the material. Your users are your best defense against hackers, responsible for repelling all the hack attempts that make it through your defenses. Cybersecurity awareness training is a must-have for your overall cybersecurity workflow.
#6—Understand your Client’s Regulatory Exposure
As part of your agreement with your clients, your firm will regularly handle their data. Because of this, whatever cybersecurity regulations affecting them will also affect you. The American Bar Association has very specific recommendations for how law firms handle data protected by regulations such as the GDPR in Europe, the California Privacy Act, HIPAA, and more.
To be prepared for a client cybersecurity questionnaire, you must first know the data handling regulations that affect them. This will help you understand whether you need to shore up your cybersecurity to work for this client and the sort of documentation they will need from you.
Law Firm Cybersecurity Audits: When to Hire a vCISO
If this all seems like a lot of work, it is. Fortunately, there are affordable options for fractional help with these tasks. Virtual chief information security officers (vCISOs) can be hired to supplement your IT staff or managed IT service provider. A vCISO is more experienced than standard cybersecurity staff, having years in the industry as well as advanced certifications such as the CISSP.
With this specialized knowledge, they can make short work of your cybersecurity planning, PEN testing, and cybersecurity governance. They are especially helpful for cybersecurity paperwork like client questionnaires or cyber risk insurance applications. A vCISO can help your staff keep up with the documentation load at your firm—and do it affordably.
Need Assistance with Your Law Firm Cybersecurity Audits? Integris Can Help.
As a national managed IT service provider, Integris offers local cybersecurity services backed up by a national network of vCISOs. We’d love to help you get those cybersecurity questionnaires off your desk. Contact us today for a free consultation, and check out our special IT management services just for law firms.
