Legal professionals need to keep sensitive information confidential for numerous reasons. They have a legal obligation to provide client-attorney privilege. Any privacy breach can potentially upend their practice, causing devastating reputational, financial, and even legal damage.
Like many professionals, lawyers rely on their phones to keep in touch with a vast network of people. Phones are a wonderful and necessary tool, but without the right security layers, there’s always a risk of a privacy breach.
Please keep reading to learn about the type of phones lawyers need to protect themselves from hackers and data thieves.
Secure Server Storage
Hackers can’t penetrate end-to-end encryption, so they often look for other ways to get at your data. Many platforms have weak server storage, so this common vulnerability is something hackers look for routinely.
Having an encrypted phone number is a vital first layer of phone security, but lawyers also need safe server storage. The best platforms offer a proprietary approach to server storage that only keeps the most basic information on file, like username, expiry date, and activation date.
The servers should act as a relay for encrypted communications, so you don’t need to leave it up to chance and hope the server deletes information before a hacker finds it. Even if a hacker were to somehow gain access, there wouldn’t be any private information for them to steal.
Leading Encryption
The phrase “end-to-end encryption” can be a little misleading since not all forms of encryption are of the same strength. Lawyers need the market’s toughest encryption on a platform that constantly guards data.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, meaning cameras should be encrypted too. A leaked image can be just as damaging as any written content.
Third-Party Apps Excluded
Apps are one of the most popular smartphone features, but they are also a considerable privacy risk. Few users read all the permissions they agree to, and once you download an app, it’s impossible to tell how where or how your personal data will be used once you’ve agreed to give it away.
Some third-party apps share your personal information with other entities as part of their business model. Some popular apps can compromise your digital privacy with the same consequences as being hacked. Therefore, lawyers should use a hardened device designed to exclude all third-party apps.
Remote Wipe
If your phone is lost or stolen, end-to-end encryption alone won’t safeguard your private information. Should you become separated from your phone, you need the ability to wipe the contents remotely.
As a lawyer, you need to ensure you have control over the sensitive information you share. It is vital to have layers of digital protection, keeping data secure in transit and at rest. No matter what happens, your data will be safe.
To securely stay connected on the go without worrying about data leaks, lawyers need a device that is simple to navigate and has a full suite of productivity tools. If you use a phone that meets all the above criteria, your clients and law firm will remain digitally secure.