Posts by John Reeman
68 days. That’s how long attackers are hiding in Australian networks before anyone notices.
Your device management tool just became a weapon. This fortnight: Iran-linked hackers wipe 200,000 devices using Microsoft’s own admin tools, an Australian healthcare software vendor hit by ransomware this week, a landmark finding on how long attackers are hiding undetected in Australian networks, and AML/CTF reforms that will reshape how law firms collect and store…
READ MORE >>Lexis Nexis Breaches – and your data maybe in the dump
Your legal research tool just became a threat vector. This fortnight: a breach that hits law firms at the supply chain, Australia’s first Federal Court cyber penalty, an elite school data breach, and a ransomware gang the ASD wants you to know about. 🔐 4 things law firm leaders should know right now: 1. LexisNexis…
READ MORE >>Court Transcripts offshored without authorisation
Third-party vendors are having a bad month. Court transcripts offshored without authorisation, a fintech platform leaking 444,000 borrowers’ data, and mandatory ransomware reporting is now in full enforcement. Here’s what matters. 🔐4 things law firm leaders should know right now: 1. Australian court files exposed after transcription vendor offshored data to India. VIQ Solutions, which…
READ MORE >>AML Tranche 2 and Cybersecurity: Same Problem, Different Regulator
Australian law firms are spending serious time and money preparing for AML Tranche 2. And they should be. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 brings legal practitioners, conveyancers, accountants, and real estate agents into the AML/CTF regime for the first time. Commencement is 1 July 2026. AUSTRAC enrolment opens 31 March.…
READ MORE >>First 24 Hours Post-Breach: Key to Your Firm’s Next Year
Your Firm’s First 24 Hours After a Breach Will Define the Next 12 Months In every incident I’ve worked, from compromised email accounts at mid-tier firms to full-scale ransomware events at national practices, one pattern holds. The quality of the first 24 hours determines the trajectory of the following twelve months. Insurance outcomes, client relationships,…
READ MORE >>ASIC Just Fined FIIG Securities $2.5 M for Cybersecurity failures
The last 10 days have delivered a landmark regulatory ruling, more ransomware hitting Australian organisations, and a critical vulnerability rated 10 out of 10. Here’s what matters. 🔐 4 things law firm leaders should know right now: 1. ASIC just fined FIIG Securities $2.5M for cybersecurity failures — a first. The Federal Court imposed Australia’s…
READ MORE >>Fractional Security Leadership: The vCISO Model for Law Firms
The security questionnaire from your largest client just landed. It’s 200 questions. Your IT provider can answer maybe 40 of them. The rest require someone who understands your firm’s risk posture, not just your firewall configuration.
“We don’t need a full-time CISO. We just need someone who knows what they’re doing.”
Penetration Testing for Law Firms: What to Expect and Why It Matters
“We got into your trust account in 2 hours.”
The managing partner’s face shifted through several expressions — disbelief, concern, and finally something like relief that this was a test rather than an actual attack.
The penetration test we’d just completed for his firm revealed what many law firm security assessments reveal: the gap between security policy and security reality.
On paper, the firm had reasonable controls. Antivirus on all workstations. Firewall protecting the network. A password policy requiring complexity. Cyber insurance in place.
In practice, a straightforward phishing attack, combined with credential reuse and missing multi-factor authentication, created a path from external attacker to trust account access in just over two hours.
This is why penetration testing matters.
READ MORE >>Mobile Forensics for Litigation: What’s Actually Recoverable From a Smartphone
Mobile phones are often the most valuable source of evidence in modern litigation. They contain communications, location data, financial records, and user activity that no other source captures.
But mobile evidence is also fragile, time-sensitive, and technically complex to extract properly.
The firms that get mobile forensics right start early, engage specialists, and treat mobile devices with the same evidentiary seriousness as documents and emails.
READ MORE >>Why Every Law Firm Needs a Tabletop Exercise
It’s 9:47am on a Tuesday. Your practice manager calls—staff can’t access the document management system. Then the ransom note appears.
Who makes the call on whether to pay? Who tells clients their matters may be compromised? Who’s calling the insurer, the OAIC, the police?
If your firm hasn’t answered these questions before the pressure hits, you’ll be making critical decisions on the fly. That’s where tabletop exercises come in.
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