Beware Free Wi-Fi

• Author: Lindsay Sestile
• Pages: 16-17

Beware Free

Wi-Fi

Everyone is despe rate to get out of

the house at this po int in the COVID-

19 pandemic , and sometimes working

elsewhere is nece ssitated by an over-

taxed residentia l network. Lawyers

should take spe cial care, however, fol-

lowing an FBI repo rt that hotels may pose

a cybersecur ity risk for guests . For Ride the

Lightning, Sharon D. Nel son explains the warning,

which was prompted by pe ople taking advantage of low

daytime hotel rates to es cape their homes fo r work, is like-

wise applicab le for anywhere with loosely protecte d Wi-Fi (e.g.,

libraries, co ee shops, restau rants). Lawyers who use this Wi-Fi to

connect to thei r employers’ networks a llow cybercriminals to exf‌iltrate con -

f‌idential data , upload malware, and deploy ran somware. Warning signs a devi ce

has been comp romised include, a mong others, sudd en slowdowns, redirected web-

sites, an indep endently moving curser, increased p op-up advertisin g, increased data usage,

and decrease d battery life. If you mu st use public Wi-Fi , consider the following : (1) Use a reputable V PN to encrypt net-

work trac; (2) ensu re your computer’s opera ting system and securit y software are update d and that importan t data

is backed up; (3) con f‌irm with the Wi-Fi provider the name o f its network before conn ecting and connect only with th at

network; (4) do not enable a uto-reconnect for the networ k, and make sure any connecting devi ce is not discoverable

and has Bluetoo th disabled when not in u se; and (5) always conf‌irm a secure interne t browsing connection , identif‌ied

by the lock icon near t he address bar. Import antly, Nelson reminds lawyers to follow th eir employers’ securit y policies

and procedure s for wireless networki ng.

h

http://bit.ly/LN462-pn1

Lindsay Sestile , Litigation News Associate Ed itor, monitors the blogosphere.

enue, f‌ind a win ning area of law and

lawyers who are pa ssionate about

blogging abo ut that area for an en-

joyable and rewarding experience.

(2) Choose a niche —niche blogs

perform bet ter than those focused

on general are as of law by providing

crucial insigh t for a targeted audi-

ence (e.g., immigrati on law for the

pharmaceutical industry). (3) Look

to the future—law yers tend to focus

on what they have done or a re doing

instead of pickin g a growth area

where they can grow new b usiness.

(4) Identify business- savvy writ-

ers—while you want go od copy, you

also need lawye rs who can connect

the dots to build a stro ng name and

relationships . (5) Establish a clear

goal—beyond tra c, have a goal to

measure your blog’s success against,

like successfully serving existing cli-

ents or buildin g relationships with a

very targeted audience.

http://bit.ly/LN462-pn2

© Getty Image s

Ready, Set, BLOG

Have you considered s tarting a legal

blog for your f‌irm? LexBlog’s K evin

O’Keefe oer s suggestions for a

successful blo g: (1) Pick a winner—if

you want your blog to gen erate rev-

16 | SECTION OF LITIGATIO N

Published in Litigation News Volume 46, Number 2, Wint er 2021. © 2021 by the Americ an Bar Association. Re produced with per mission. All rights res erved. This infor mation or any portio n thereof may not be c opied or disseminated in any

form or by any means or sto red in an electronic da tabase or retrieval sy stem without the ex press writt en consent of the Amer ican Bar Associatio n.

POSTED&NOTED SIGHTIN GS FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE