Mike Poole, IT Manager at Lodders reached out to VIPRE towards the end of last year. He wanted to investigate if SafeSend could help them strengthen their data protection efforts beyond what they currently had in place, by involving their users in the decision making process. This was a bold move away from using artificial intelligence to carry out this function, but unfortunately the AI engine was not performing as the law firm needed it to. By replacing AI with the critical second check by the user before an email was sent, it was hoped that the potential for data loss could be cut right down.

Mike says: “As a law firm, Lodders is very protective of the sensitive information we deal with every day, and keeping that data safe from accidental exposure is something we take very seriously. By investing in a service like SafeSend, we are adding another mechanism to our data protection arsenal, one which helps to mitigate against the very real risk of addressing an email to the wrong client, and potentially sending sensitive data to the wrong recipient.”

By using SafeSend, a service which empowers the user to make data protection decisions, Lodders were moving away from relying on machine intelligence to perform this complex decision making process. They realised that artificial intelligence alone was not always the right way to protect data, especially when it comes to determining what data is safe to send outside of the organisation.

Mike continues, “SafeSend also assists with Data Loss Prevention by scanning for sensitive data keywords. It alerts staff to their presence in an email and any attachments, again asking them to confirm that they are happy with their recipient list and that the attachments are safe to send. The autocomplete feature in Outlook makes it easy to misaddress an email and we are alert to that danger – SafeSend reduces the risk here significantly.”

Lodders Solicitors Moves To Human-Led DLP

Employee error is now ranked as the number one cause of data breaches and leakage, and organisations – particularly those in sectors handling very sensitive data – need to ensure they are investing in robust processes, and using the right tools to mitigate the risk of inadvertent data loss. Tools like SafeSend can be used to reinforce good data security hygiene, reminding users to be vigilant.

“SafeSend has been rolled out to the entire firm, using a group policy,” Mike tells us. “Staff are comfortable working with the software and feel the benefit and reassurance of having it in place and protecting them and the firm. We have customised our SafeSend software to include the Lodders logo, the contact details for our Head of Data, and a hyperlink to our Intranet’s Information Management section. This contains all our I.T. and security policies.”

SafeSend DLP Module: Enhancing Protection for Sensitive Data

Lodders have also invested in the SafeSend DLP module which further scans the email body and attachments looking for red flagged data strings. This module helps with protecting personally identifiable information (PII) and intellectual property (IP) by allowing the admin to set up a series of triggers for certain types of data. Users whose emails and attachments trigger this flag, are notified to the risks and again, asked to confirm that they are happy with this information leaving the organisation and with the recipient list.

Mike outlines how they have used this feature and how staff at Lodders have taken to this new way of working: “We have added some wording and phrases related to sensitive data, and these will trigger a prompt should they be scanned and found in the body text or attachments of an email. Staff feel more protected from misaddressing emails, something which can be easily done due to the autocomplete feature in Microsoft Outlook. They are happy with the quick extra steps they need to take when sending emails externally and this is not a problem for them.”

Wrapping up, Mike was quick to compliment the VIPRE Support Team, “I have spoken to support specifically regarding the initial implementation setup. They assisted us in setting up custom branding and wording, as well as customising our DLP keywords. I have been impressed with SafeSend support. They have a great deal of knowledge and have always been able to assist us swiftly with any queries we have had.”

About VIPRE

VIPRE is a leading provider of internet security solutions purpose-built to protect businesses, solution providers, and home users from costly and malicious cyber threats. Our award-winning software portfolio includes comprehensive endpoint, email and web security, plus threat intelligence for real-time malware analysis, delivering unmatched protection against today’s most aggressive online threats.