CYBER CRISIS RESPONSE : Your 72-hour rescue kit
When ransomware or a serious cyberattack strikes your law firm, the actions taken in the first 72 hours determine whether it becomes a manageable incident or losing decades of client trust, facing regulatory penalties, and potentially closing your doors forever.
This straightforward, color-code framework provides immediate structure when confusion typically reigns because when hackers attack, you don't have time to figure it out.
What's Inside Your Crisis Kit:
Cyber Crisis Response Scorecard
Measure your current preparedness and identify critical gaps in your defences with our interactive scorecard tool
Incident Response Plan Template
Know exactly who to call and what to do in the first critical minutes – no guessing, no panic
Ransomware Decision Workflow
Make the "pay or don't pay" decision with clear criteria, not desperation
Essential Logs to Collect
Preserve the evidence that could save your practice and satisfy regulatory requirements
Ransomware Resilience Checklist
Spot vulnerabilities before hackers do – prevention is always better than crisis management
The Silent Threat Every Law Firm Faces
The Costly Mistakes: Why Most Law Firms Fail
The "It Won't Happen To Us" Mentality
Most firms operate without a formal incident response plan. Without documentation, response time triples, data exposure increases by 70%, and recovery costs balloon 2-3x.
Prevention: Develop and test an incident response plan (IRP), ensuring employees know their roles. Better still run regular and realistic cyber simulation exercises so you are better prepared when an incident does occur.
Inadequate Client Data Protection
Law firms store vast amounts of confidential legal documents, contracts, and personal client information, but many fail to encrypt or properly secure these files in transit or at rest in the cloud.
Prevention: Use end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication (MFA), principle of least privilege and secure cloud storage for sensitive files.
Holding on to data past its sell by date
We've all seen one of those programs on the TV about house hoarders and have the OMG moment and think that will never be me. The harsh reality though is that this is exactly what many law firms are doing with their data!
Prevention: Start mapping out what data you have, how old it is, when it was last used and if no longer required reduce your liability and delete it.
Lack of Cybersecurity Training & Awareness
Many law firms overlook staff training, making employees the weakest link in cybersecurity. Phishing emails, weak passwords, and poor security habits often lead to breaches.
Prevention: Conduct regular cybersecurity awareness training, implement phishing simulations, and reward employees for reporting incidents.
Comprehensive Assessment: The Color Code Method
Having a robust Incident Response Strategy is essential. Our Cybersecurity Colour Code Method framework is built on 25 years of real-world learnings taken from cybercrime investigations and what good cybersecurity defence practices should look like.
Our framework provides a comprehensive assessment focused on three core pillars — People, Process and Technology — to ensure an effective and resilient response to a cyber crisis.
Our method provides a structured and proactive approach to cyber incident response, equipping law firm's with the readiness and resilience needed to mitigate risks and recover swiftly from cyber threats.
Being prepared is essential. Don't wait for a cyber incident to happen. Take action today before it's too late.
About Cyooda Security
Cyooda Security is an independent cybersecurity and digital forensics firm dedicated to protecting Australian law firms.
Founded by John Reeman, former CISO of King & Wood Mallesons, with 30+ years of experience protecting law firms from data breaches, ransomware, and cyber espionage.
🛡️ NSW Licensed ⚖️ Former KWM CISO 📅 30+ Years Experience
John Reeman
Founder & Principal Consultant
Beyond Crisis Management
Whether you need immediate help or want to strengthen your defences, we're here.
When Things Go Wrong
🔍 Digital Forensics
Preserve evidence, understand what happened, and support regulatory or legal requirements.
When Things Go Wrong
🔥 Incident Response
24/7 response when ransomware or a breach strikes. Containment, recovery, and regulatory guidance.
Before Things Go Wrong
🎯 Penetration Testing
Find vulnerabilities before attackers do. Network, cloud, and Microsoft 365 assessments.
Before Things Go Wrong
🧭 Security Leadership
Strategic guidance from a former law firm CISO. Build resilience before the next incident.
Need Help Now?
Whether you're facing an active incident or want to prepare before one happens, we're here to help.