Professional Services Security
Professional services firms handle highly sensitive client information while facing escalating cyber insurance costs and professional liability risks. We help law firms, accounting firms, and consulting companies build security programs that protect client confidentiality and meet insurance requirements.
How We Engage with Professional Services Firms
Our Fractional CISO Approach for Professional Services Firms
Most professional services firms engage a Fractional CISO to provide strategic security leadership without full-time overhead. We work with you through a three-phase approach - assessing where you are, designing what you need, and building and operating programs that protect client confidentiality and meet insurance requirements.
What This Looks Like for Professional Services Firms:
We understand your unique client data workflows - how confidential information moves from engagement intake through active matters to archival, across document management systems, email, and collaboration tools. Professional services-specific priorities include client confidentiality with matter-based access controls (aligning with conflict checking and information barriers), remote work and client site access security (attorneys in court, accountants at client sites, consultants accessing client systems), cyber insurance compliance (MFA, endpoint protection, backup/recovery that stabilizes premiums), and professional liability protection (incident response, breach notification, malpractice defense documentation).
When Should You Engage Security Leadership?
You don't need perfect security to serve clients, but you do need a plan. Here are signs you should engage security leadership now rather than later:
Business Impact Signals:
- Cyber insurance premiums doubling or policy non-renewal threats
- Unable to obtain cyber insurance coverage at any price
- Enterprise clients requiring SOC 2 or ISO-27001 certification or specific security controls
- Lost engagements due to security concerns or questionnaire responses
- Professional liability insurer requiring security improvements
Professional Liability Signals:
- Client data breach or close call incident
- Ethics inquiry or bar association question about data security practices
- Malpractice carrier requiring specific security controls
- Client asking pointed questions about confidentiality protections
- Engagement letters including security requirements you can't meet
Operational Signals:
- No one in the firm owns the security program
- Remote work security concerns from partners or clients
- Bringing in first IT/security hire and need to assess before hiring
- Recent ransomware attack in your practice area raising concerns
- Cloud migration or new practice management system implementation
Client Requirement Signals:
- Enterprise clients requiring security attestations or assessments
- Engagement letters increasingly including security terms
- Clients asking about incident response capabilities
- Matter conflicts revealing inadequate access controls
- International clients requiring specific data protection measures
If a few or more of these apply, you're past the point where you can kick security down the road. Professional services breaches damage client relationships and can create malpractice liability that insurance won't fully cover.
Common Questions About Professional Services Security
Do we need a CISO or security expertise for our professional services firm?
Not necessarily a full-time CISO, but you need security expertise to protect client confidentiality, meet cyber insurance requirements, and satisfy professional responsibility obligations. Many law firms, accounting firms, and consulting companies use CISO as a service to get expert guidance without full-time overhead. This provides the security expertise you need for insurance compliance and client obligations while you determine if you need dedicated security staff.
Why are cyber insurance premiums increasing for professional services firms?
Professional services firms face increasing cyber insurance costs due to: high-value data attracting sophisticated attackers, rising frequency of ransomware targeting law and accounting firms, significant breach costs including notification and credit monitoring, professional liability exposure from security failures, and lack of adequate security controls at many firms. Insurers now require detailed security assessments and specific controls (MFA, EDR, email security, backup/recovery) before providing coverage.
Do we need SOC 2 certification as a professional services firm?
Depends on your clients. Enterprise clients increasingly require professional services firms to achieve SOC 2 certification, especially for firms handling significant volumes of client data or providing technology-enabled services. While not universally required in professional services like it is for SaaS companies, SOC 2 demonstrates security maturity that differentiates your firm and satisfies enterprise client security requirements.
Ready to Strengthen Your Professional Services Security?
Let's discuss your firm's security needs and compliance requirements.