In a wake up call to law practices all over the country, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, one of the world’s most reputable and well-known law firms, has confirmed that it was the target of a massive cyberattack on February 8th of this year.
The attack caused major disruptions in the firm’s operations, as employees were unable to access all of the network resources they needed to carry out their work.
The firm’s employees were advised to use their personal email accounts and connect to the guest wireless network if they came to the office. This was a temporary measure aimed at ensuring that the firm’s employees could continue to work despite the disruption caused by the cyberattack.
Troutman Pepper confirmed the incident in a statement acknowledging that the firm had been targeted by a cyberattack and that immediate action was taken to contain the threat.
The firm said it followed its established protocols in dealing with the cyberattack and conducted a thorough inspection before restoring systems access.
The statement also indicated that there was no indication that client data had been compromised at this time. Of course, just because there no evidence yet does not mean that these accounts were definitively not breached either, further investigation is needed to make that determination.
The cyberattack on Troutman Pepper is a reminder of the importance of having strong cybersecurity measures in place.
Law firms, in particular, are most vulnerable to cyberattacks because of the sensitive information they handle. As a result, it is essential that law firms have robust cybersecurity measures in place to protect their systems and the sensitive information they hold.
You can read more about this breach
here .
States across the country are now starting to mandate cybersecurity courses as part of the standard CLE requirement for attorneys to remain compliant. New York, for example, is the most recent state to require a mandatory cybersecurity course. As of this year New York-barred attorneys will need to take at one least credit in a course focusing on cybersecurity to fulfill their CLE requirement. Luckily, we now include a very educational course in our newest New York CLE bundle that will meet this special requirement and show you the most important steps your firm needs to implement to stay protected. Take a look at our CLE bundles
here and just email us at
info@marinolegal.com if you have any questions regarding your state’s CLE compliance rules.