Survey shows cybersecurity a growing concern in law firms

According to a survey by the International Legal Technology Association and InsideLegal, security management has beaten email management as the biggest issue that legal IT departments must confront for the first time in eight years.

The survey had 184 respondents, primarily director-level, c-level and management level individuals from firms of all sizes. 57 per cent of respondents said that two to four per cent of total firm revenue is spent on technology, with 41 per cent reporting their firm's technology budget increased in 2015, 44 per cent that it remained static and 15 per cent spending less.

Cybersecurity concerns

The survey also shows a prioritising of cybersecurity, with 59 per cent naming security management as a top concern compared to 48 per cent citing email management and 40 per cent citing information governance. Security software and security assessments ranked sixth in ‘what firms purchased last year’ and fifth in ‘planned purchases for next year’. Furthermore, 63 per cent of respondents cited ‘security concerns’ as a compelling reason to avoid cloud-based technologies. There appears to be little consensus about the cloud, however, as 29 per cent cited ‘security’ as a compelling reason to embrace cloud-based technologies. Source: InsideLegal

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