By Julie Bays, OBA Management Assistance Program Director

A lawyer recently asked me whether switching to a fiber optic internet provider would create a security problem. He was upgrading from an older, more expensive service and wanted to make sure he wasn’t trading savings for risk.

It’s a fair question. Lawyers should be thinking about security. But here’s the part that may surprise you.

Most law firm breaches do not happen because someone “hacked the Wi-Fi.”

They happen because someone clicked a phishing email. Or reused a password. Or failed to turn on multi-factor authentication. Or ignored software updates for months.

The internet connection itself is rarely the weak link. The configuration and behavior behind it usually are.

Switching to fiber is typically a smart move. It’s faster, often more reliable and, in many cases, less expensive. The security issue isn’t the fiber line running to your office. It’s the router sitting on your shelf and how it’s configured.

If you use the device provided by your internet company, that’s fine. But at a minimum, change the default administrator password, rename the network, use strong Wi-Fi encryption and disable any features you do not understand. Better yet, consider using your own quality router with automatic security updates and stronger firewall controls.

But even that is not where most lawyers get into trouble.

The bigger risk lives in your email inbox.

If you do nothing else, focus on these fundamentals:

• Turn on multi-factor authentication for Microsoft 365 and any cloud-based systems you use.
• Use a password manager so you are not reusing passwords across platforms.
• Keep your computers and software updated.
• Install reputable endpoint protection on every device in your office.

Those steps do more to protect client information than obsessing over whether your internet service is cable or fiber.

As lawyers, we are entrusted with confidential information. Our ethical duty of competence includes understanding the technology we use and taking reasonable steps to protect it. But “reasonable” does not mean complicated. It means layered, thoughtful and proactive.

Security is not a single device. It is a system.

So yes, upgrade your internet service if it makes financial and practical sense. Just remember that the real protection of your law practice begins with your habits, your configurations and your daily choices.