Preserve Client Confidentiality With Managed File Transfer: A Checklist for Law Firms
Client confidentiality is of paramount importance for law firms. The attorney–client relationship is grounded on trust and this trust hinges largely on the preservation of confidentiality. Sensitive information must be shared freely and securely between attorneys and their clients. Mishandling information can lead to unauthorized access and have dire consequences—it can lead to a breach of trust, litigation, and even damage the reputation of the law firm.
The risk of unauthorized access increases every year as the exchange of legal content between attorney and client becomes increasingly digitized and automated. In fact, the electronic transfer of confidential files has become an integral part of many law firms’ day–to–day operations. Email and other traditional file sharing methods, however, do not always offer the necessary security measures to protect sensitive content.
This is where managed file transfer (MFT) solutions come into play. Managed file transfer is a reliable, secure, and monitored approach to file transfer that ensures client confidentiality is maintained at all times. Nevertheless, it’s critical for law firms to select the right managed file transfer solution that can effectively handle sensitive content to mitigate the risks associated with unsecure file transfer.
Still debating between FTP and managed file transfer? Here are six reasons why managed file transfer is better than FTP .
Understanding the Sensitivity of Legal Content
Before diving into the features a managed file transfer solution must have, it is crucial to understand just how sensitive legal content is and therefore how much is at stake in the event of unauthorized access.
Legal content frequently includes highly confidential information about business strategies, acquisitions and mergers, personal financial data, proprietary technology, intellectual property, and potentially incriminating evidence. It can also include customer data, including financial reports, account statements, and bank account information for billing purposes. In essence, any discussion or document that a client prefers to keep private meets the definition of “sensitive content.”
Such sensitive and confidential information naturally requires a greater level of protection when being transferred, as compared to generic, non–sensitive data. The unauthorized access, loss, or theft of confidential client information can not only result in financial repercussions but also legal and regulatory implications. Therefore, a managed file transfer solution must go beyond basic file transfer functionality to offer robust security and compliance features.
Risks Associated with Unsecure Managed File Transfer
An unsecure managed file transfer solution can leave law firms vulnerable to a host of threats. These threats can come from both internal and external sources, and they can lead to unauthorized access or even the theft of sensitive client data. Note, a data breach does not merely represent an infrastructural or IT failure. It also signifies a breach of the firm’s duty to keep client information confidential. This can lead to significant legal and financial implications, not to mention the potential damage to the firm’s reputation.
Regulatory consequences are another significant risk associated with unsecure managed file transfer solutions. Data privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the US impose hefty penalties on any organization that fails to protect personal data. Therefore, not only is client confidentiality a professional obligation for law firms, but it is also a regulatory requirement with significant legal, financial, and reputational implications.
Managed File Transfer Solution Key Feature Requirements Checklist
A secure managed file transfer solution must meet a set of key feature requirements to ensure it can effectively protect sensitive content and preserve client confidentiality. The following checklist offers a guide to the essential components that every secure managed file transfer solution must, absolutely must, contain:
- Robust Encryption: Strong end-to-end encryption is critical. Files should be encrypted both in transit and at rest, ensuring that only the authorized recipient can access them.
- Identity and Access Management: The managed file transfer solution should offer advanced identity and access management (IAM) features, allowing the firm to control who can access your files.
- Compliance features: The solution should have built–in compliance features to ensure the firm can easily adhere to regulations such as the GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and many more.
- Secure protocols: The use of secure file transfer protocols like FTPS, SFTP, HTTPS, etc., is critical to ensure that data is transferred securely.
- Audit logs: A modern managed file transfer solution should provide comprehensive audit logs for every transaction, providing real–time visibility and control.
- Data loss prevention (DLP): The DLP feature protects law firms against data leaks, such as restricting certain file types or implementing automatic quarantine of sensitive files.
- File integrity checks: A good managed file transfer solution will ensure the integrity of transferred files by including checksum and hash algorithms like MD5 or SHA.
- Automation capabilities: Automating file transfer processes can reduce the risk of human error, ensure consistency, and save time.
- Scalability: The managed file transfer solution should be able to scale with your law firm’s needs, accommodating growth and changes.
- Support and maintenance: Ensure that the chosen managed file transfer solution comes with sufficient support and timely updates to improve security measures.
The Benefits of Preserving Client Confidentiality with Managed File Transfer
It should be evident by now that the benefits of having a secure and effective managed file transfer solution go beyond legal and regulatory compliance. Firstly, it protects sensitive client information from unauthorized access or data breaches, which directly reinforces the trust between the attorney and the client. This trust is a cornerstone of a successful attorney–client relationship, and it can give your law firm a significant competitive advantage.
Secondly, by implementing a robust managed file transfer solution, law firms can streamline their data transfer processes. As a result, they can improve their operational efficiency and save valuable time.
Thirdly, a secure managed file transfer tool can help law firms avoid financial repercussions and damage to their reputation resulting from data breaches. Ultimately, investing in a secure managed file transfer solution is not only a compliance necessity but also a smart business decision.
Kiteworks Helps Law Firms Ensure Client Confidentiality With Secure Managed File Transfer
Client confidentiality is a crucial element in the legal sector, and preserving it should be a top priority for every law firm. When it comes to transferring sensitive content, traditional methods fall short in offering the necessary security measures, making managed file transfer solutions a preferred option. However, not all managed file transfer solutions offer the same level of security and compliance features.
By choosing a managed file transfer solution that includes robust encryption, identity and access management, compliance features, secure protocols, audit trails, DLP features, file integrity checks, automation capabilities, scalability, and timely support, law firms can ensure the secure transfer of sensitive files, comply with regulatory requirements, and build a strong reputation amongst clients and peers.
The investment in a secure managed file transfer solution not only fortifies the trust and confidentiality in an attorney–client relationship but also contributes to operational efficiency and business growth. Therefore, it is imperative for law firms to carefully consider their managed file transfer solution to ensure it offers robust security, compliance, and performance features.
The Kiteworks Private Content Network, a FIPS 140-2 Level validated secure file sharing and file transfer platform, consolidates email, file sharing, web forms, SFTP and managed file transfer, so organizations control, protect, and track every file as it enters and exits the organization.
Kiteworks secure managed file transfer provides robust automation, reliable, scalable operations management, and simple, code–free forms and visual editing. It is designed with a focus on security, visibility, and compliance. In fact, Kiteworks handles all the logging, governance, and security requirements with centralized policy administration while a hardened virtual appliance protects data and metadata from malicious insiders and advanced persistent threats. As a result, businesses can transfer files securely while maintaining compliance with relevant regulations
Kiteworks secure managed file transfer supports flexible flows to transfer files between various types of data sources and destinations over a variety of protocols. In addition, the solution provides an array of authoring and management functions, including an Operations Web Console, drag–and–drop flow authoring, declarative custom operators, and the ability to run on schedule, event, file detection, or manually.
Finally, Kiteworks Secure MFT Client provides access to commonly–used repositories such as Kiteworks folders, SFTP Servers, FTPS, CIFS File Shares, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Box, Dropbox, and others.
In total, Kiteworks secure managed file transfer provides complete visibility, compliance, and control over IP, PII, PHI, and other sensitive content, utilizing state–of–the–art encryption, built–in audit trails, compliance reporting, and role–based policies.
To learn more about Kiteworks’ secure managed file transfer capabilities, schedule a custom demo today.
Additional Resources
- Blog Post 6 Reasons Why Managed File Transfer is Better than FTP
- Blog Post Secure Managed File Transfer: Which Solution is Best for Your Business?
- Video Kiteworks Secure Managed File Transfer: The Most Secure and Advanced Managed File Transfer Solution
- Blog Post Navigate Complex Financial Regulations With Secure Managed File Transfer
- Blog Post Eleven Requirements for Secure Managed File Transfer