Scottish Solicitors Recognise Cyber Security Challenges

Close to one in two solicitors in Scotland have named their biggest challenge in technology as cyber security, says a new practitioners’ study.

Ipsos Mori, which conducted the survey on behalf of the Law Society of Scotland, found that most solicitors have a “fairly” or “very” positive opinion of technology.

More than a third of respondents believe that training would be of some benefit, and 42% called cyber security an “important” issue.

The survey, which saw over 670 solicitors take part, revealed that 92% use the internet daily for business purposes, with 59% using a smartphone to go online for the same purpose.

The full results of the survey will be made available at the upcoming Law Society’s Technology and Cybercrime Conference, to be held in Glasgow.

Helena Brown, partner of legal advisers HBJ Gately and the chair of the event, noted that this had been the only survey conducted by the Law Society on solicitors’ views regarding technology. She said:

“The findings highlight the positive view most have of increased use of technology and how it can benefit their businesses and the wider justice system, but also draw attention to some of the issues the profession faces in terms of keeping up to date with developments and how to ensure that their data is safe.”

The results of the survey are a good indicator in this particular industry, but other industries will need to adopt a more positive understanding of cyber threats. Without that understanding, and by failing to create cyber security and incident response jobs, businesses in the UK are continually putting themselves at risk.