As you, your colleagues and/or staff may be working from home during this challenging time, it is important to understand the risks associated with logging remotely into your office server. This is especially important if your firm handles medical records, which contain highly personal and sensitive information. The greatest risk may be phishing emails which may appear authentic, but in-fact are not. Also, your home computer may be used by family members who visit various sites and may download malicious software. For example, in preparing for an online class, your child may unknowingly download software that may contain malware. Also, your home computer may not be up-to-date with anti-virus protection, firewall and patches. In addition, your wifi network may be unsecured. These are only a few of the many risks.
All states have data security laws and regulations that businesses, including law firms, must follow, and attorney ethics rules require lawyers to take competent and reasonable measures to safeguard information relating to clients (See e.g., ABA Model Rules 1.1 and 1.6 and Comments).
Therefore, it is important for all attorneys and their staff to be vigilant while working from home during this turbulent time.
We send our best wishes and hope everyone stays safe and healthy.
