Choosing a Data Hosting Service for Your Law Firm

Second perhaps only to the healthcare industry, data security in the digital space is one of the most pressing concerns that law firms face on a daily basis. Law firms are subject to an extraordinary number of rules and regulations regarding what type of information can be stored digitally, how it must be stored, who it can be shared with and more. Violations open law firms up to regulatory actions, financial settlements and more depending on the severity of a particular issue or breach. This is the core reason why making sure that you're choosing the right data hosting for law firms is so important.

What To Look For When Choosing a Data Hosting Service

User-Level Permissions

One of the biggest considerations to make when it comes to law firm data hosting is one of permissions. Not every employee in a firm will need access to every kilobyte of data stored on a server. Some employees will have no reason to open a particular file and giving them access anyway could open the server up to user error, an internal breach, accidental deletion and more. SFTP providers like FTP Today are an ideal choice for law firm data hosting for this reason - they give administrators the ability to not only create unique login credentials for each user, but also specify where a user can or cannot go and what they can do down to the folder level.

The Security of Information Sharing

Law firms share a huge amount of client data digitally on a daily basis. This is especially true as a case moves closer to trial, when sharing information with other members of staff or even opposing counsel becomes the norm. SFTP makes a great data hosting service option for law firms for this reason - it gives you the ability to guarantee that important information is protected at all points on its journey, including while it is at rest. It accomplishes this through encryption, which is a type of cyber cryptography that makes sure that anyone intercepting data cannot read it without an associated set of encryption keys.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Law firms are always subject to certain rules regarding how much time can pass before a particular client file can be deleted. This is true even if that client is no longer associated with a law firm. Additionally, even a disruption of a single business day could potentially harm a client's case, making it impossible for their attorney to work towards the best possible outcome as they are sworn to do.

SFTP helps prevent business interruption through a series of extensive backup and disaster recovery options. Providers like FTP Today not only perform daily incremental backups and retain backups for at least five full days, but those backups are also kept in a separate geo-location from their primary facility. This will minimize downtime and preserve business continuity by restoring server access and functionality as quickly as possible after a disaster has taken place, regardless of the scope of the disaster.

When choosing an SFTP provider, make sure you're getting what you pay for.

Download this free ebook which walks you through exactly what you need to know to make the appropriate SFTP provider choice for your business.