When the COVID pandemic hit, it set off a ripple effect that pervaded society. There were many predictable and immediate consequences to it, including serious illness, death, economic impact, and unemployment. However, some effects were unforeseeable, but have proven to be new challenges in society, including vaccine hesitancy, unwillingness to return to work, and more pressure to allow for remote work.
Perhaps one of the most astounding effects stemming from the pandemic is the reckoning American workers had. In fact, the number of people quitting their jobs in the United States hit record levels in 2021, with 4.4 million people quitting in the month of September alone.
Their reasons can include any number of factors: better pay and benefits, work-from-home options, better opportunities, better work-life balance, job satisfaction, and changing industries. For employers, this can be a hassle in that they invested time and money in training these employees, lost an experienced professional, and must invest more time and money in finding a replacement. While this is a fact of business even under normal circumstances, the large number of people leaving at once can make this an overwhelming situation.
Beyond the aggravation that comes with resignations and replacements, many companies run the risk of their employees staying within the same industry but moving to a competitor. To sweeten the deal and entice employees to stay, some companies are adding perks, including remote work. In terms of data loss and the potential for breaches, this can make companies vulnerable. In one such example, the legal industry faces a reckoning.
Legal Challenges
Many law firms, particularly large firms, employ a range of legal professionals, from paralegals to partners. They also have legal secretaries and/or assistants, as well as support staff in IT, marketing, business development, and more. While the scope of access may vary, many of these employees are often exposed to sensitive and confidential information, and may easily be able to retrieve documentation from company computers. From a business standpoint, it could be disadvantageous at best, or disastrous at worst if this information were taken to a competitor.
According to the recent 2021 Law Firm Business Leaders Report, a survey involving 55 leaders at law firms, two of the top three concerns regarding profitability among firms is losing employees. Leading their concerns, the number one issue is recruitment and retention of attorneys. Their second highest concern is other firms poaching their attorneys. Reuters also reports that firms have been experiencing high turnover throughout 2021.
One of the hidden dangers to legal professional attrition is the potential for departing employees to take information to a rival firm. Although this is unethical, it is very much possible. Beyond higher pay to retain attorneys, some firms are exploring additional perks such as more work from home options.
Amending Legal Security Policies
These shifts in the legal industry underscore the importance of a tightened data security policy. A legal professional is likely to need to transport data from the office to the courtroom, home, or elsewhere. One is also likely to have access to critical documents involving clients, cases, intellectual property, business strategy, and more.
The SecureDrive BT external portable drive and SecureUSB BT flash drive offer the convenience and ease of saving information offline, but come with heightened security features including hardware encryption, anti-hacking detection, and password authentication. This is particularly useful if a drive is lost or stolen.
The security of both drives may also be upgraded with Remote Management, which puts more controls in place. Through its easy-to-use console, administrators may restrict the drives to certain geographical locations or within certain time parameters. Administrators may also provision drives to have additional controls, such as Step-Away or Time-Out AutoLock, Read Only mode, and Remote Wipe.
To protect company computers from potential data leaks or malware via an infected USB device, SecureGuard helps to enforce a firm’s port access policies. Administrators may allow or restrict whichever USB devices on company computers they wish. When an unauthorized device is inserted into a USB port, the computer locks until the device is removed, thereby preventing someone from storing data on a forbidden drive.
To set up a better data security solution for your firm, contact one of our experts at 424-363-8535.