- What are Cybersecurity Regulations?
- Why are Cybersecurity Regulations Important for Small Law Firms and Accounting Firms?
- Identifying Different Types of Cybersecurity Regulations
- Establish A security Program
What are Cybersecurity Regulations
Cybersecurity regulations are laws, rules, and guidelines that organizations must follow in order to protect their data and systems from cyber attacks. These regulations are designed to help organizations ensure the security, integrity, and confidentiality of their data.
Why are Cybersecurity Regulations Important for Small Law Firms and Accounting Firms
For small law firms and accounting firms, cybersecurity regulations are essential in order to protect confidential information, such as client data or financial records. Without proper security measures in place, these firms could be vulnerable to cyber attacks, which could lead to the loss of data or the disruption of business operations.
Identifying Different Types of Cybersecurity Regulations
The most important regulation for small financial firms(an entity is a “financial institution” if it’s engaged in an activity that is “financial in nature” or is “incidental to such financial activities as described in section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956) is the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act : Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for enforcing the Safeguards Rule, which requires financial institutions to develop, implement, and maintain an information security program to protect customers’ nonpublic personal information. The Safeguards Rule requires financial institutions to assess the risks to customer information, design and implement safeguards to control the risks, and regularly monitor and test the safeguards’ effectiveness.
There is no federal law regulating a law firm’s cybersecurity practices and policies. However, the failure of the law firms to properly safeguard client data in these circumstances could lead to federal investigations. Other regulations include.
California Consumer Privacy Act : The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) is a state law that grants consumers certain rights regarding the collection and sharing of their personal information. The CCPA applies to businesses that collect, process, or store personal information from California residents, including law firms. Under the CCPA, law firms must provide consumers with information about how their personal information is being collected and used, and must give consumers the right to request deletion of their data.
Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security: Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security (SHIELD) is a data security act passed by the New York State legislature in 2019. The act requires businesses to implement a data security program that includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards for the protection of private information. It also provides guidance on how companies should respond in the event of a data breach, as well as outlines penalties for companies that fail to comply. The goal of the act is to help protect New Yorkers from identity theft and other cyber crimes.
ABA Formal Opinion 483: ABA Formal Opinion 483 does not directly relate to cybersecurity. However, the opinion does provide a framework for lawyers to use when conducting legal discovery in cases involving cybersecurity-related matters. By understanding and following the ethical standards set forth in the opinion, lawyers can ensure that they are conducting discovery in a manner that is both legal and ethical. Furthermore, the opinion can help lawyers to understand what their ethical obligations are when utilizing technology-assisted review processes, particularly when those processes are used to identify and produce relevant evidence in a cybersecurity case.
Establish A Security Program
NIST provides a basic framework to establish a cybersecurity program. It provides organizations with a structured approach to managing and reducing their cybersecurity risk and helps them to align their cybersecurity activities with their organizational risk management strategies. The NIST CSF is designed to be used by all types of organizations, including private and public sector entities, and is intended to be used in conjunction with existing security processes and standardsCySafe's Small Firm toolkit is a self guided tool based on the NIST framework.It enables small firms to establish their security program using a designated in-house professional hence saving costs.