Month: April 2021

When considering your legal company’s IT it’s important to partner with an IT service provider that can handle your specific environment and the needs of your business. Ranging from forgotten passwords through to massive security breaches and data loss you need to be sure your IT partner has these eventualities covered. This will keep your business running efficiently and securely.  

Leaf have 15 years’ experience looking after the IT of legal companies and understand the complex and confidential nature of the industry as well as the regulatory requirements associated. Leaf’s IT managed service solutions streamline systems and adds resiliency to their technology processes, while increasing billable time and securing all data.

This post will highlight the need for law firms to have IT Managed Services.  

Leaf Account Manager, David Corr with Gordon McElroy, Director, MKB Law. Read the client case study here.

High downtime.

Legal industries often do highly time sensitive work and high levels of downtime result in less revenue and disruption to the daily workings of the firm. When users can’t access critical software it will hender their ability to attack their workload in consequence, costing a hefty sum to the firm. 

Underperforming systems and applications.

If your system and applications underperform or tend to crash often it can drastically interrupt operations. Managed IT services can help reduce this issue so your business can perform at it’s best.  

Availability of IT Support. 

Legal professionals need IT support to quickly remediate issues as they arise, again removing downtime and keeping staff online and operational at all times. 

Poor IT Security. 

Data protection is a must for any company, but law firms in particular hold vast amounts of sensitive data, meaning security is of the upmost importance. Client data and case files need to be kept safe and secure, while being safely accessible from inside the firm. A managed IT service provider can safeguard all your data and monitor and block ongoing threats.  

Choosing your IT managed service provider.  

You should aim to choose a managed service provider with referencability in the legal sector and specific experience of the industry. In order to support them correctly the provider must understand how a law firm functions.  

Technology and Staff.

Consider the aptitude of not only the companies staff but the technologies they deploy. Look for software support expertise, technical certifications, vendor partnerships and industry leading software.  

Contact us for any requirements you may need:

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It’s April 2021 and some companies still don’t have a clear view of their cyber security strategy and their business may be at risk. It is estimated that roughly 170.000 businesses across the island of Ireland could be vulnerable to any malware attacks that infiltrate their systems as they don’t have a solution in place or a qualified member of staff overseeing their cyber security. A study from 2020 shows that of 205 companies belonging to different sectors, approximately 48% of them did not have any cybersecurity policy in place.

It is undeniable every business needs a cybersecurity solution in place, but it can be difficult to know what to prioritise and the steps that need taken. 

The first steps. 

Testing – It is proven that most cybersecurity risks come from human error such as an employee clicking on a link they should not have or opening an attachment from an untrusted source. Cyber security awareness education is vital and compliance testing is a great way of keeping your employees up to date on the risks and the actions necessary to protect your business.  

Resources – You should use all the resources available to you. Always keep up to date with your security software messages and make sure to regularly access your control logs and act on any issues or alerts your monitoring system issues. Make sure you have full visibility of what machines or software are running on your network and ensure you can identify what should not be there. Run weekly vulnerability scans and penetration tests to scan your systems for weaknesses so you can act on these weaknesses.  

Many companies employ a managed services company to guide, implement, monitor and support their strategy. Find out more.

Backup strategy – Even with the best security strategy, breaches can still happen. It is essential that you are prepared for the eventuality of a breach happening. Discuss with your team how best to react to a variety of scenarios and have a mitigation plan to help your organisation deal with the damage of a breach and get back to business-as-usual as soon as possible.  

It is also key to treat it as an addition to a robust cyber security defence and emergency plan.   

Having a strong emergency plan in place will minimise the damage caused by a breach. 

Find out more about Disaster Recovery and BackUp.

Online Security. 

Having good online instincts is key and it’s vitally important all staff are aware of how to keep your company protected.  

Top tips for online security: 

• When you visit a website, you do not already know or trust, always check for “Https” in the address bar – this will let you know if your connection is secure.  
• Be email aware – be cautious of messages that: 

1. 1. Are from unfamiliar senders. 
   2. Request personal or financial information.  
   3. Are not personalised or just don’t seem quite right.  
   4. Contain coercive, frightening or offensive material. 

• Learn how to spot spoofed emails and be vigilant to them. Always check the send-from address and think twice before clicking a link within an email. 
• Keep all your browsers and your operating systems updated with the latest security updates.  
• Be aware of pop-ups – do not click on links or enter any personal information into them.  
• Use strong passwords – you can read our blog on password security here.  

Device Security. 

If you have a company issued device or your own device, it has potential to become a security risk for you and your business.  

Top tips to decrease the risk of devices: 

• Do not take a company issued devices with you when travelling unless you are sure you need it. 
• Back up your device data, lock your phone with extra security, use apps such as “Find my iPhone” or “Android Lost” and enable remote access to protect and preserve your information if your phone or tablet is lost or stolen.  
• Only download apps from a legitimate app store.  
• Choose your apps carefully – app malware is a rising and could be a serious threat.  
• Clear all data before selling or disposing of your device. 
• Use a VPN when connected to unfamiliar networks. 
• Do not use any USB devices before checking them before hand by your IT department.  

We offer a no strings assessment of your companies cyber security strategy. Get in touch for more information or to have a chat. 

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This month our Digital Marketing Executive, Jessen Armstrong, will be putting our Cloud Solutions Developer, Oonagh McKeogh, under the spotlight:

Jessen: Hi Oonagh! Could you tell us your areas of expertise as a Cloud Solutions Developer?

Oonagh: I mainly specialise in Dynamics 365, SharePoint & PowerApps but I also work with all other Microsoft programs like PowerBI and PowerAutomate.

Jessen: Could you describe the best parts of your job?

Oonagh: I like learning about what different companies do and developing new systems for them that make their job easier and allow them to work more efficiently.  I love working in a company like Leaf, where everyone is happy to help in any way that they can and are fun to work with.

Jessen: What’s your favourite technology?

Oonagh: I’ve always enjoyed gaming, going back to playing pixelated games on the Nintendo 64 up to my latest purchase of the Nintendo Switch.  I’ve always been interested in computers and their ability to help people in different ways, especially in recent years with AI through Alexa, Siri and other smart technology. I also have a record player that I love listening to 70’s and 80’s music on.

Jessen: What do you like to do outside of work?

Oonagh: I love exploring Northern Ireland and going for walks along the coast or a hike up the Mourne Mountains.  I also love travelling to different counties when I can.  I’m very close to my family so enjoy spending time with them and visiting them in the different counties they live in.  I listen to music a lot and go to gigs and concerts regularly.  I’ve recently got into baking and different forms of art, the baking has gone down well with my family!