Proposal / Submission Type

Peer Reviewed Paper

Start Date

18-5-2018 1:00 PM

End Date

18-5-2018 1:35 PM

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of a survey that is the initial phase of an action research project being conducted with the Law Society of Western Australia. The online survey forms a baseline for the expression of a targeted training regime aimed at improving the cyber security awareness and posture of the membership of the Society. The full complement of over 3000 members were given the opportunity to participate in the survey, with 122 members responding in this initial round. The survey was designed to elicit responses about information technology use and the awareness of good practices with respect to cyber security within the legal profession. The legal profession is one of the most sensitive with respect to loss of information that would affect legal professional privilege where exposure can have catastrophic consequences. We found that, comparable with other professions, lawyers do claim to use effective countermeasures on their laptops, but largely ignore their mobile phones, which highlights a particular class of risks for the profession.

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May 18th, 1:00 PM May 18th, 1:35 PM

A Survey of Lawyers’ Cyber Security Practises in Western Australia

This paper reports on the results of a survey that is the initial phase of an action research project being conducted with the Law Society of Western Australia. The online survey forms a baseline for the expression of a targeted training regime aimed at improving the cyber security awareness and posture of the membership of the Society. The full complement of over 3000 members were given the opportunity to participate in the survey, with 122 members responding in this initial round. The survey was designed to elicit responses about information technology use and the awareness of good practices with respect to cyber security within the legal profession. The legal profession is one of the most sensitive with respect to loss of information that would affect legal professional privilege where exposure can have catastrophic consequences. We found that, comparable with other professions, lawyers do claim to use effective countermeasures on their laptops, but largely ignore their mobile phones, which highlights a particular class of risks for the profession.