Hackers are continuing to find new ways to gain access to the sensitive data handled by legal firms, making a data breach more a question of “when” rather than “if” for the legal industry. In fact, the American Bar Association (ABA) published a report that detailed that almost half of all firms had some incident with malicious actors. In response, law enforcement entities now separate businesses into just two groups: Those that have already been hit by a data breach and those that will be hit in the future. 

As these concerns continue to proliferate, both federal and state governments are gearing up to put stronger data privacy and protection laws into place, making 2023 a year for significant regulatory action related to compliance. New data privacy laws are being put into place in five states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia, with thirty other states considering legislation that may be passed into law by next year. In addition, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA), a bill proposed to provide greater uniformity in data privacy compliance, has brought the United States a step nearer to the passage of a federal privacy law.

To stay compliant with emerging regulations — and keep data protected from cyberattack — law firms must adopt leading-edge cloud computing technologies.

Benefits of the Cloud for Law Firms

While there has been a significant increase in adoption of the cloud for law firms in recent years, the industry is still lagging in the adoption of cloud-based technologies. Cloud usage was up to 70% in 2022, with the highest adopters being medium-sized firms. However, cloud adoption can bring significant benefits to law firms, especially where data privacy and compliance are concerned:

Data Redundancy

Data redundancy and replication are critical to keeping business moving in the event of a data breach. Cloud computing technologies tackle this issue head on by keeping data archived off-site and in several locations. If ransomware is deployed against a firm, the cloud will keep your data available to you for the purposes of mitigation and business continuity.

Data Governance

A data security approach to cloud computing begins with data governance. Having outlined security policies and controls in place ensure that only authorized personnel have access to your data in the cloud. Establishing a least privilege access and/or role based access provides safeguards that protect sensitive information from internal bad actors as well as controlling overall access. Most cloud computing solutions have significant access control protocols that allow for simple management of data governance policies. 

Data Visibility 

Knowing what data your firm handles and where it is located is the first step to accelerated compliance and stronger data protection. Cloud computing offers greater visibility to data across departments and branches for better control. In addition, cloud computing technologies allow law firms to automate their data security, providing automated role-based access control mechanisms, remote monitoring of data streams, and automated security patches and updates for increased security and compliance.

Let Blue Technologies Help Your Firm Stay Secure in the Cloud

Moving your data to a cloud-based environment can not only help your law firm be more efficient and effective, but it can also help you stay compliant with current and emerging data privacy and protection regulations. 

At Blue Technologies, we take cybersecurity seriously. Our team of cloud computing experts ensures that the solution we create for your firm promotes best cybersecurity practices to help keep you in compliance at all times. We use remote monitoring and maintenance alongside regularly scheduled network health reviews to ensure your system is functioning optimally and is safe and secured. Importantly, backups are scheduled according to your needs and a disaster recovery plan ensures that you will retain business continuity in the event of an outage or data theft or loss.

Take the uncertainty out of data privacy regulation compliance with a robust cloud solution. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant and learn how our team of cloud computing experts can help.