Oxygen Technical Services Ltd

Are Your Legal Documents 100% Secure?

The Internet is a beautiful thing – it connects people, opens forums for creative discussion, and allows people to look at cute pictures of dogs. The increase in Internet usage has opened more people up to the world and cyber-attacks. To best safeguard a law firm and its sensitive information, responsible decision-makers turn to a document management system.

As society relies more on the World Wide Web, hackers find more openings. Document management systems protect confidential files from attack and set up a bulky defense both inside and out, keeping records safe and secure from end to end. Having “paperwork” doesn’t have to mean that a person must deal with physical paper. By going paperless, document management systems allow law firms a greater range of control while also maintaining the level of security that befits such private information.

Why Is Cybersecurity an Issue for a Law Firm in Canada?

Allowing sensitive information to fall into the wrong hands can be detrimental to a law firm. Besides doing the usual damage and jeopardizing the firm’s reputation, letting private information into the wrong hands, intentionally or unintentionally, may have legal repercussions. In 2019, 43% of data breach victims were small businesses.

With small businesses being the target of cyber-attacks all too often, any law firm wanting to preserve itself has to make a change: taking cybersecurity as seriously as they take the pictures of cute dogs. A law firm, with all its clients’ sensitive data, can’t rely on a shared file system or simple, supposedly-secure emails. Last year, all employees had access to around 17% of all sensitive information. Through accident or negligence, an employee could leak private data. The trust, then, must lie in a document management system. No other system comes equipped with the quality security and the ease-of-access that document management systems have.

One of the main goals of document management systems is, yes, going paperless. In a law office, it’s unlikely that there’s going to be zero sheets of paper fluttering around, and since digitizing all of those files seems to be a daunting task, it’s recommended that a firm moves forward with digitization rather than looking backward. Old files can stay in their physical forms. Information security is a crucial part of conducting business at a law firm – don’t overlook it!

What a Document Management System Can Do

The real question is, what can’t a document management system do? For a law firm, organization and security are crucial. Every file has to have its place, and that place needs to be incredibly secure and accessible by only those permitted to view it.

Using less paper not only gets a firm in on the “paperless” trend but allows for a neater-looking office space. The neater the space, the more professional it appears. The more professional it appears, the more someone is likely to take an office seriously as a law firm. Additionally, digitizing bulky materials like photos and DVDs allows for easy access to multimedia without having to dig through containers and search for the right one.

A proper document management system can also set up a file organization to be as meticulous as a firm wishes it to be. Files can be organized hierarchically with many different categories – all to make it as easy as possible to find the correct file in the shortest amount of time. Leafing through file folders and cabinets is a thing of the past. With digitized files, all a person has to do is search for the document, and they’ll find it. Furthermore, compatibility with all devices is a significant aspect of document management systems. If someone needs to access a record and they aren’t at the office, through the system, they can pull up the document, as well as edit it at any time, from any place.

Speaking of that level of organization and security, document management systems can even offer secure print release. If a person is out of the office and needs to print something, they can hold the print job until the time they can retrieve it – without having to remind themselves to print it later or at the last minute. This practice is useful because printers are typically a vulnerable spot in a business’s cybersecurity defense. They’re so overlooked that they’re often targeted!

Another neat feature of document management systems involves following a paper trail. The system can keep a record of everything done to a digitized file – that is when it was downloaded, printed, emailed, edited, accessed, and so on, and by whom. This type of security check allows for a law firm to trust its employees while also keeping a watch on sensitive data.

Automate Your Security with a Document Management System

A document management system can keep all of a law firm’s sensitive information under lock and key. Only those granted permission can access specific files, just as it should be. While cyber-attacks may be on the rise, law firms can look forward to increasing their productivity and easily surfing through secured files to open them up with a simple search. Organization and security in one package lead to a more professionally-run law firm.

Find out how our document management system can help you with information security.

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