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Managing Security for a Remote Law Office

The remote workforce created security challenges. As quickly as you said “coronavirus”, everyone was working from home. This created at least two problems.

First, some folks started using their personal computer for work. And personal business intermingled with work business. This creates blurred lines. For instance, “what’s subject to discovery in the case of a lawsuit?”

Second, the remote workforce created new security vulnerabilities. Employees are now working outside the company firewall. And their computers aren’t being managed and maintained, increasing your vulnerability to cyber attacks

Yes, some are using work laptops. But employees are still vulnerable to threats in today’s new work environment.

Zac Wilcoxen is a Managed IT expert. He sat down for an interview to discuss steps to remote your workforce while also managing risk.  

• Why everyone should connect through a VPN to their work domain.
• Why it’s important to have a managed update policy.
• How family members compromise work security.

Why everyone should connect through a VPN to their work domain.

Setup a VPN. Then use the VPN. Then remind the team to use the VPN. Then follow-up to make sure they’re using the VPN. Again, and again. Sound redundant? There’s a reason.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is one of your most essential tools for maintaining security.

It keeps your private data private. If you connect to a public network like a coffee shop, then you need to use a VPN. Without a VPN, you’re visible to others connected to that network. A VPN creates a private tunnel that keeps prying eyes away from your data.

Once you are connected to a VPN, all your web traffic starts to filter through that tunnel. It’s encrypted and remains private. The VPN can also connect to your business infrastructure, protecting your connection and making those resources available remotely. The bottom line is you shouldn’t use an open network without a VPN in today’s world filled with malicious actors.

Beyond these benefits, a VPN connected to an office network containing an Active Directory allows use of Group Policy Objects (GPOs). With GPOs, you can fine-tune user level of access and security. One example is websites that employees may visit.

It's more likely that remote users will visit sites they usually wouldn’t visit at work because they don't have somebody over their shoulder. This unfortunately increases risk.

GPO settings enforce access rules to different types of websites through DNS filtering. The GPO settings also allow you to revoke or remove admin privileges. So, not only can you block malicious websites, but the admin settings make it difficult for employees to download and install malicious programs.

You may think your antivirus software gives protection. But there are “zero-day attacks” that aren’t covered.

A zero-day attack is a virus that isn't known to the antivirus world yet. So, there's no definition and there's nothing to block it because it's a brand-new virus. DNS filters (enabled by the Group Policy Objects) help prevent this and mitigate zero-day attacks by blocking IP addresses that are known bad actors.

So, enforcing VPN use so that you can also setup security focused Group Policy Objects is one of the most important precautions I recommend.

Then you have patch management through a managed update policy.

Why it’s important to have a managed update policy.

Patch management makes sure that all your applications, including your operating system, are fully up to date at all times. Some people think they don't need to update because they don't care about the new features. But it's not about new features. It's about security. 99% of patches are focused on security vulnerabilities.

For example, Microsoft Windows is full of vulnerabilities – every single week Microsoft drops new patches to address different vulnerabilities. There was a major vulnerability that came out in the last week or two that's already been patched by Windows. A while back there was Meltdown and Spectre which are threats to both hardware and Intel processors. That also got patched by Microsoft.

Every week new vulnerabilities are discovered. So, it's imperative you make sure all devices stay up to date. But don’t rely on employees to take care of it on their own.

You need an IT team doing remote patch management. It can be your internal IT team, or it can be a managed IT provider like Pretect. Without these updates, the likelihood of security vulnerabilities is much higher than it would be otherwise.

How family members compromise work security.

Lock your computer! Even at home. In fact, build it into your Group Policy Objects so employees don’t have a choice. You’ve got to protect your organization from non-malicious threats. Meaning, an individual (employee) who goes against company policy but doesn’t do it with the intent to cause harm. Such as visiting non work-related websites, game downloads, etc.

Kids have a nasty habit of using open computers. They visit sites they shouldn't, and accidentally invite viruses that can result in a cyberattack.

People think they're safe in their own home, but then Billy comes along and goes to download what he thinks is Minecraft. Instead, he downloads something malicious. Now, your entire organization is dealing with this problem.

Plan for success. Have your GPOs and Company Policies in place to prevent this before it happens.

Wrapping up

The remote work environment was thrust upon us with no warning. And it looks like some form of it is here to stay for a while. Quit worrying about the past and look to the future.

The remote work environment is more complicated and needs thoughtful security measures.

If you're a small law firm you're probably not hiring an in-house IT person because that doesn't really make sense. There isn't enough job there to justify paying a system administrator, who is going to cost about $60,000 per year. That's where managed IT providers like Pretect come in. Managed IT providers can do it much more reasonably as a third party. Typically, fees range from $75 to $125 per user per month. Which includes patch management, help desk support, endpoint security, and proactive asset monitoring.

Whatever you do, please don’t do nothing. Plan for success. An ounce of prevention goes a long way against cyber threats.

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