Tell Them Why You Don't Like Email Attachments
If you are a techie, I know that you've told your staff that e-mail attachments are dangerous. In fact, I'm pretty sure that you've said it more than once. But have you told them why?
No, not the explanations of "because you'll get a virus" or "they put the network's security at risk" or "it creates more work for me." You and I know what these reasons imply. But do your staff know why getting a virus is bad or why you have to work so hard to get rid of it?
Let them know plainly that this is also about advocacy and the best interests of their clients. It is about stopping the abusive spouse who wants to access the case management system to get his ex-wife's current name and address or the opposing party who wants to check out your firm's strategy, arguments, and evidence. Remind them that you can't protect the system from intrusions alone and need their help. They need to be careful about the e-mail attachments that they choose to open and let you know as soon as possible if they think that they've made a mistake.
If you need help putting together an easy-to-understand example for your staff, check out Mitigation Monday: Defense Against Malicious E-mail Attachments. It starts with an example scenario that you can easily customize for your firm. And then it gives you a list of defenses that you can implement to help your staff avoid making mistakes. - K
