When it comes to cybersecurity, every business needs to implement its own strategy for network safety. Whether you have ten or a hundred employees, everyone’s workplace should be secured and free from malicious cyber attacks.
There are plenty of instances of cyber attacks on American and Canadian businesses, such as the MOVEit Attacks in August 2023, which compromised hundreds of companies and tens of millions of people. Even large corporations with robust cybersecurity must grow and change with technology to prevent dangerous security breaches.
Businesses must take the necessary steps to secure data and protect their employee and client information. If you work or manage a law firm, you may know better than most why data security matters. Storing client data and sharing confidential information must be done on a secure network while neutralizing any threat of malicious cyber attacks.
When securing legal data, having the right IT infrastructure services ensures your law firm can achieve operational efficiency. We’ll run through the types of IT infrastructure solutions, network security, and how to secure legacy data.
Types of IT Infrastructure
What Is IT Infrastructure?
With technology powering practically every business comes the need for IT infrastructure. This includes safety policies, multi-factor authentication, how data is stored, how employees communicate with one another, what equipment and technology is used in the workplace, and how work is carried out and done efficiently.
Your team can enhance their productivity and safety in the digital workplace with the proper IT infrastructure and security protocols.
A few different types of infrastructure services are available to any business, between in-house or outsourced and cloud services or traditional infrastructure.
In-House vs. Outsourced
In-house IT managed services may be required if you are an expanding business, especially if you require somebody on-site for immediate IT support. An in-house IT department is the team most familiar with the network infrastructure and can work to secure your company further.
However, outsourcing a managed IT service is beneficial and still ensures the same level of security. This can be a cost-effective option, especially if you don’t have the office space for an IT department.
Offsite IT services still provide immediate support and likely will have other clients, so they will follow security protocols and improve the current IT infrastructure at your law firm.
Cloud Infrastructure
Cloud computing IT infrastructure means any user on the corporate network can access data from anywhere, and that data is not stored onsite. Cloud infrastructure exists in a remote offsite server that can be accessed via the internet.
This is an excellent advantage to offices that typically work remotely or smaller law firms that may not have the facility space to accommodate traditional infrastructure. Cloud is often recommended for hypergrowth companies or for smaller businesses who can’t afford the more traditional approach.
All hardware management and costs are absorbed by the hosting company rolled into a set monthly fee.
Traditional Infrastructure
A traditional IT infrastructure refers to hardware and software installed at your office. It usually means installing infrastructure components like servers, switches, and a firewall and then connecting computers to form an internal corporate network. This can be costly, but is usually the best option for more prominent or larger companies, and can be more secure if configured correctly.
Why Does Your Law Office Need Network Security?
Like any business, a law office needs network security for the safety of its clients, lawyers, and employees. Everyone’s personal data and legal information on working and past cases is at risk of a data breach.
For instance, a similar office that requires confidential data to remain secure is a municipal government office. In this office setting, large files that need to stay secure are typically sent via email or digital file exchange.
These documents can be saved on a cloud-based network, such as Google Drive or Microsoft SharePoint, or stored locally on company servers. No matter where the files reside, they pose a potential security risk. Having an IT security policy in place ensures the data does not get corrupted by malicious software, or exfiltrated and sold on the dark web.
How to Protect Legacy Data
With the right IT infrastructure services, you can be assured that any new data saved on your business computers and sent through email will be secured. However, if you’re an older practice, some data may not be saved digitally.
For example, old cases, documents, and tape recordings may only exist as physical copies in secure data storage. If your business digitizes all legacy data, that data must also be protected. As there is personal client information and potentially confidential information on past cases, legacy documents should be treated like any new documents in your system.
While digitizing any legacy data, it is essential to convert it to a format readable to the computer system. After the digital transformation, this information should also undergo the same IT security policies that new digital documents go through to ensure it is saved correctly in the system and secured.
Offsite Backups
Backing up data can help avoid some of the negative impacts of data loss. The 3-2-1 backup rule is a good method to follow and is a universally accepted strategy in the IT industry.
This rule gets its name from a tried-and-true approach to data backup: keep at least three copies of data, store two of them on different storage media, and keep the third as a backup copy offsite. By using this rule, you can be sure you can get your data back in almost any scenario.
Sometimes, this rule is expanded to the 3-2-1-1 rule, which adds an immutable or air-gapped backup. An immutable backup is a file that can’t be deleted or modified, which makes it immune to new attacks and deletion.
An air-gapped backup is when data is stored offline on detachable disks or tape disconnecting them from the original site. Air-gapped backups are also ransomware-proof and can be used to ensure a swift recovery following a cyberattack.
Book a Discovery Call
If you’d like to learn more about how IT infrastructure solutions can benefit your business, book a call with us today. Our expert team will work with your business to ensure your employees and confidential info is secured through modern IT infrastructure.
Every business can benefit from a thorough security audit and network security to prevent data theft. Infinity Network Solutions offers a business-to-business IT service that advocates for your company’s network safety.
Reach out to us today for a consultation and find out what IT-managed services your business needs to ensure business continuity, guaranteed uptime, and operational efficiency.
