In this blog/video we discuss the importance of CYBER SECURITY in the conveyancing industry. 

This blog/video is great for anyone who plans on buying or selling a property in Queensland. We explain the major cyber risks involved in conveyancing, and why conveyancing firms are being targeted by hackers and scammers. We also explore the TOP 5 THINGS Empire Legal does to protect clients and make us the leaders in the tech space for Queensland conveyancing!

Prefer to watch/listen? Click here to consume this content via YouTube!

Hi everybody - George Sourris, Empire Legal.

Today's topic: How we protect our clients - QLD conveyancing cyber security.

This week we're talking about cyber security and how Empire Legal stays ahead of the curve. Alright, so we're in an era where cyber threats are increasing at a scary rate. Safeguarding sensitive information has never been more critical, especially in the legal industry, where clients entrust firms with their most personal and financial data.

Let's not forget that most clients are transferring their life savings into trust accounts for their conveyancing. At Empire Legal, we prioritise cybersecurity, ensuring our clients information remains protected, unlike competitors who fail to implement essential security measures. 

Here's 5 ways that we go above and beyond to protect our systems and keep our clients data secure. 

1. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): A Must-Have for Security:

Alright, let's kick it off with 2FA, a crucial layer of security that protects businesses and individuals from cyber threats like phishing and identity theft. Traditionally, after logging in with email and password, you then also need to authenticate with either a third party authenticator app, or via SMS. With cybercrime on the rise, the Australian Government strongly encourages businesses to implement Two Factor Authentication to safeguard sensitive data and comply with key regulations, including the Australian Cyber Security Strategy and Privacy Act.

At Empire Legal, we enforce two factor across all of our systems,  ensuring unauthorised access is virtually impossible. Some competitors may rely on outdated login practices, but our firm practices this security measure to provide the peace of mind to our clients,  knowing that their confidential information is well protected. 

2. Managed Service Providers (MSPs): Ensuring Proactive IT Security:

A strong cybersecurity strategy requires constant monitoring, and that's why we partner with a trusted managed service provider, for expert remote IT support and system oversights.  At Empire Legal, we're proud to work with Hess and his team from Blue Mountain Computers, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions.

Shout out to Hess and the team!

They provide unlimited support, ensuring a predictable monthly cost without surprise invoices. Forced operating system and application updates, which keeps our software up to date and secure, real time system monitoring, which detects hardware or software vulnerabilities before they become problems, and corporate grade antivirus and endpoint detection and response, which basically isolates compromised devices to prevent the threat from spreading.

Many competitors cut corners by neglecting these crucial IT security measures, but at Empire Legal, we refuse to take such risks because it's our client's sensitive information. This is big guys, this is an extra cost and it's not cheap. It costs us money every single month, but we do it because we know that if a breach happens, deposits could be lost, identity information could be compromised. That's not what we want to happen at Empire. 

3. Dark Web Monitoring: Preventing Data Breaches Before They Happen:

Cybercriminals often trade stolen credentials, financial data and sensitive business information on the Dark Web. At Empire Legal, we proactively monitor the dark web through our IT partners, to detect potential breaches before they can be exploited.

Through continuous surveillance and threat intelligence, we act swiftly to protect our firm and our clients. Many law firms overlook this essential safeguard. I reckon guys, if you do the ask around, our competitors are not paying for Dark Web monitoring. At Empire Legal we are. We recognise that being reactive is simply not enough.

You've got to be able to stay ahead of the cyber threat and maintain the highest level of security. Our IT providers are constantly sweeping the dark web, looking out for any credentials or information related to our firm.

4. Cloud-to-Cloud Backup: Protecting Your Data from Loss:

Relying solely on cloud providers like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for data storage is risky. While these platforms offer redundancy, they don't guarantee full data recovery in cases of a cyber attack, accidental deletion or system failures. We take extra precaution at Empire by implementing third party cloud to cloud backups.

This ensures no critical data is ever lost. This proactive measure keeps us compliant with the Privacy Act, and of course, the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme, further strengthening our commitment to protecting our client information.

5. Email Awareness Training: Empowering Our Team Against Cyber Threats:

Now this one's my favourite guys, phishing attacks and email scams are amongst the most common cyber security threats businesses face.

At Empire Legal, we know that human error is one of the leading causes of security breaches, which is why we invest in regular email awareness training with our team. What this does is it educates our staff to recognise phishing attempts, ransomware, and business email compromise schemes, which significantly reduces the likelihood of cyber incidents.

Unlike competitors who fail to provide such training, our commitment to cyber security education ensures our team remains viligant and proactive in protecting our clients information. Again, if you ask other conveyancing firms, do they do specific training on cyber threats that's ongoing, I reckon the answer is probably no.

We get a report sent to us every month that shows if any of our team opened a phishing email and then we can obviously do some upskill training on what to look out for not to click the following month.  

Why cyber security matters to us and to you?

This should never be an afterthought. It's a fundamental part of how we do our business. Our dedication to implementing industry best procedures and keeping in line with government regulations, and investing in the latest security tech ensures our clients trust us with their most sensitive legal matters. Unfortunately, lots of firms in the industry don't take cyber security seriously, or definitely not as seriously as we do.

When it comes to your legal affairs, you need someone that's motivated to protect your stuff. You can be confident your data's protected at Empire Legal with  high security standards. If you want an intro, by the way, to our IT providers, just flick us an email, happy to put you in touch. If you're in business, cyber security is no joke. This is the dark side of conveyancing that people often don't think about, guys.

People don't think a cyber attack will happen to them. My friends, just Google it. It happens all the time. It's on the news. Deposits get lost. Hackers are targeting conveyancing practices. Why? Because we hold the money. Our accounts are full of clients cash. The bad guys want to get it. At any point in time, we have millions of dollars in our trust account.

Our promise to you is that we won't let the bad guys get your money. We even ring up and confirm banking details with clients over the phone. Yes, it's old school, but believe it or not, it's the best way to safeguard your funds.

So next time you're picking a conveyancer, ask them what their cyber security systems are like. Or just don't even bother and give us a call.  We're industry leading with our tech and our cyber security standards. The guys that are $200 cheaper and sent you that letterbox drop asking for business, for sure don't have the same standard of cyber security that we do.

That's it guys. Cyber security is no joke. Hope you learnt something. Any questions we're available, let us know. If you've got a blog topic you want done, let us know.

Have a great day. 

Subscribe to our YouTube and our blog. We want to get to 1,000 YouTube subscribers. We're only going to do that with your help. We're giving out this content for FREE to help you and your peers. Spread the good word of Empire Legal. We want to help everyone make property law in Queensland easy and smooth sailing.  

If you have any questions, you can email me: george@empirelegal.com.au. 

If this has added value, please share this blog / the YouTube video with a friend. 

Thanks for reading everybody. See you on the next one.

Ladies and gentlemen, please keep in mind that all advice is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. This is authorised by George Sourris, Empire Legal, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

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Note: all information is general in nature and as each matter is unique please contact our office for tailored advices: the above does not constitute legal advice.