If you are a lawyer that has interest in technology, you no doubt have heard of Software as a Service (SaaS) in the cloud. Many lawyers already use SaaS in the cloud,  and you probably already do in some form as well. Many lawyers that use SaaS are wary (and rightfully so) about a number of issues and challenges including security, cost, data backup and recovery and other possible disasters that could happen in the cloud. In this article, we will take a look at what SaaS is, how it is used in the courtroom and law firm and how to prevent any cloud disasters associated with SaaS from happening to you.

Software as a Service apps are quickly becoming more popular in the courtroom and law firms everywhere. A SaaS app is software that is based in the cloud, so it performs the same functions as software installed on your computer, but you can access it from any device that has internet access instead of having to install software on all of your devices.

Some of the most popular SaaS apps that are used in law firms today are:

• Evernote: Used for taking notes, snapping photos, clipping web articles, audio clips and much more.
  

• Google Apps: This powerful document management suite allows lawyers to quickly create, edit, delete, share, sign and save documents, spreadsheets and presentations from any mobile device or computer that has internet access.
  

• Dropbox: The most popular cloud storage provider, offering free space, unlimited size file sharing, simple file sharing, strong encryption and security measures. 
  

• Box: Similar to Dropbox, it offers free space, but does have file size limits. It also offers the strongest security measures as it is HIPAA and HITECH compliant.
  

• Microsoft SkyDrive: Microsoft's cloud storage. If you have Windows 8, you are no doubt familiar with SkyDrive as much of the storage and apps are stored in the cloud on SkyDrive.
  

• Basecamp: That's right, the premier project management tool in the world is SaaS. Based in the cloud, Basecamp provides lawyers with all the tools they need to successfully manage cases and other projects from any location with internet access.
  

Well, there is good news and bad news. The bad news first: 1 out of 3 Companies Lose Data in SaaS. Okay, so now you're thinking that SaaS is not secure, right? Wrong. The sad fact is- human error still accounts for the number one reason for data loss in the cloud. And unfortunately, security cannot predict human error and therefore it is very hard to guard against it. But there is one cloud service that stands against human error, human stupidity and even purposeful malicious human deletion. This cloud service is cloudHQ. 

The cloudHQ backup and replication service works by providing a complete backup of all of your cloud data to a backup account on a completely separate cloud service. So if your law firm uses Dropbox for all of your cloud storage needs, the backup account could be on a separate cloud service such as Google Drive or Box. You choose which folders and files you wish to have backed up and cloudHQ does the rest. All new files added to the shared folders in the main account will be instantly replicated to the backup account. So now if you or your legal aide or anyone else with access to the cloud account accidentally (or purposely) deletes files or important documents, there will always be a secondary copy of all of your files and documents on the backup account. Recovering files is quick and easy and only takes minutes. Most cloud services offer file recovery, but only for short periods up to 30 days. After that period of time, your data is gone forever, unless you have a secure backup system like cloudHQ. Human error is prevalent and is still the number one cause of data loss in the cloud, but with cloudHQ, you can combat human error and defeat it easily.

• SaaS Litmus Test | How to Pick a SaaS Solution | Domo | Blog (domo.com)
• Identify, Acquire and Master the Technology that Will Drive Your Small Business (staples.com)
• First Ever Cloud "SaaS Enablement as a Service" for Rapid Cloud On-boarding of Software Applications by NephoScale Cloud Computing and Corent Technology (prweb.com)
• SoftServe Launches SaaS Tenant Analyzer, a Solution for Predicting Subscriber Behavior (virtual-strategy.com)
• SaaS-based Commercial Fleet Telematics Units will Increase from 1.06 Million in 2012 to 16.8 Million by 2018, Forecasts ABI Research (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Sql saturday199 cloud_stakeholders (slideshare.net)
• Enterprise software vendors face deflation: Advantage SaaS (zdnet.com)

The bond between law firms and cloud computing has seen recent surges due to the useful features of cloud apps, as well as the tightening of cloud security. Mobile and cloud trends have helped push the legal industry towards a more mobile-friendly, remote use industry. Lawyers have searched for apps and services that will save them money while offering them flexibility to manage their legal duties remotely in the least amount of time possible. The cloud has offered numerous apps and services that do all that and much more. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at some of the best cloud apps for lawyers, and why cloud integration and backup are critical for lawyers.

Box is one of the leading cloud services. It attributes its recent surge in popularity to several factors, including a simple interface, easy integration with other cloud services by using cloudHQ, fast and simple file sharing and top-notch security features. As lawyers must adhere to strict security measures to protect confidential information, Box is the perfect fit for the law firm. 

Technology has provided lawyers with the ability to save time and money, while becoming more efficient in courtroom duties, research, document management and much more. But with the advances in technology come the possibility for mistakes to be made. In this article, we will look at the top 5 tech mistakes that lawyers make.

Creating weak passwords is one of the top reasons that accounts suffer unauthorized access. The most commonly used passwords can be cracked within seconds and many hackers have sophisticated software that can crack strong encryption. The best way to counter this is by creating the strongest passwords possible and by activating secondary authentication measures such as two-step authentication.

It may seem like a good way to save a little money, especially when dealing with expensive software, but the repercussions can be severe. Employees may find the pirated software and turn you in, or you may end up with viruses, malware or other malicious software that can steal your passwords or other authentication. 

Mobile devices contain much information that can be used for nefarious gains- confidential client information, access to cloud accounts, sensitive law firm information or other data that must be protected. A strong pin or password should be used to protect access to the phone. Remote wipe should also be installed in case the mobile device is lost or stolen, so that it can be wiped clean from a remote location. Account login information should not be saved on the device in case it is accessed.

This mistake is quite self-explanatory. Lawyers, legal aides, secretaries- they all have numerous passwords and authentication measures to remember and many times they get written down on sticky post-it notes, stuck under keyboards, stuck to the side of monitors or hidden inside books or desk drawers. 

Computer security is extremely important, yet many lawyers leave their computers on without any sort of screensaver password or other authentication. Even if they do use passwords to protect their computer, weak passwords can be just as bad, especially if you're dealing with an experienced hacker. Autocomplete and the "remember password" functions should never be used, just in case the computer does happen to be accessed by someone else.

• PayPal and the National Cyber Security Alliance Highlight Results of Mobile Security Survey (hispanicbusiness.com)
• SecurityCoverage Inc. Presents 'Password Pop Quiz' Infographic (prweb.com)
• How safe is your password? (hiscox.co.uk)
• Password security v. mobile devices (somebits.com)
• Tech Tip #3: Make an Uncrackable Password! (asdaqua.com)
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• Words on Passwords (visual.ly)
• Most common and hackable passwords on the internet (telegraph.co.uk)
• Text input management may affect authentication (reviews.cnet.com)
• How to Improve Your Password Security and Why You Should Care (llatech.com)

Mobile devices have played a huge role in the uprising of the cloud and its popularity in law firms. The widespread adoption of cloud services among lawyers has been mainly because of mobile and cloud apps that have provided lawyers with a myriad of benefits including increased efficiency, cost reduction, flexibility, high availability and efficient time-management.

Mobile has allowed lawyers to ditch the office and turn to a virtual office- completely mobile and remote. The majority of legal work can be accomplished directly from mobile devices at any location that has internet access. Legal documents can be created, shared and signed by using cloud apps. 

When the cloud was first introduced, the legal profession was extremely cautious, and many bar associations recommended that lawyers not use it for legal work until security concerns could be resolved. Now that the majority of the security concerns have been resolved, a number of bar associations now simply advise that lawyers disclose their use of the cloud to clients and do complete background and research on cloud providers to ensure they are treating the data with care.

Security has been an issue for lawyers ever since the cloud first began making waves in the tech world. The legal profession has actually been every slow to adapt to the new technology, and much of the reasoning behind this has been because of security and ethics concerns. But lately, the majority of security concerns have been squashed. Cloud security is actually much higher than the typical in-premise security. How many lawyers can actually walk past their receptionist's computer (or their own) without seeing sticky notes or other papers with written-down instructions, passwords, accounts, client notes, etc. With cloud security, all that information is securely locked behind military-grade encryption, strong authentication and (if enabled) secondary authentication measures such as two-step verification. Virtually the only current security threat to cloud security is human error, which is the leading cause of data loss in the cloud.

Human error consists of accidental deletions, file misplacement, loss of account credentials, accidental ToS violations and other mistakes that can lead to data loss or loss of account access in the cloud. While there is no fail-proof security system that can protect 100% against human error, one cloud service comes nearly close enough to being perfect- cloudHQ.

The cloudHQ data loss protection system works by providing automatic, real-time replication of all cloud data to a completely separate cloud account. So even if human error causes massive amounts of data loss, or just the loss of a single file, cloudHQ has a complete secondary copy of all of your cloud data stored on the backup account. And since cloudHQ replicates in real-time, even if the data loss happens while you are working, cloudHQ will have you, your data and any changes protected up to that point, so the most data you may lose is a few seconds.

Human error is prevalent and will never completely vanish, but you can protect your confidential and sensitive data from being lost by using the best cloud backup and replication service available- cloudHQ.

• Top 10 Cloud Security Threats In 2013 (cloudhq.net)
• box.build: Q&A with Senad Dizdar, CEO of cloudHQ (developers.blog.box.com)
• Top 5 Tips For Cloud Security (cloudhq.net)
• Does BYOD Create A More Productive Worker? (cloudhq.net)
• HighCloud Security Releases New Software to Simplify Secure Data Migration and Backup to the Public Cloud (prweb.com)
• Taking a reality check on Cloud security (intechnology.co.uk)
• Backup in the cloud -- peace of mind and protection against hacking (betanews.com)
• Data loss - not someone else's problem (intechnology.co.uk)
• Google Cloud Backup Mitigates Risks in the Cloud (spanning.com)
• Preventing Cyber Security Risks in the Cloud (prweb.com)

The cloud has made data transfer a much simpler, faster and automated process, but with the luxury of these benefits comes a risk. With so much data flowing through so many various channels, vulnerabilities do exist that, if exploited, can lead to information theft and data loss. As lawyers, our clients' information security depends on how well we can protect their confidentiality. Security has never been as important as it is now, in a time when many lawyers have turned to cloud apps and services to perform many legal duties. While cloud apps do have very strict security measures implemented to protect the data of clients, it is still nearly impossible to protect against human error, which is still the leading cause of data loss in the cloud.

As we mentioned above, human error is the leading cause of data loss. Accidental deletions or overwriting are the usual mistakes that result in data loss. While many cloud services have restoration features, many of them expire after a specific length of time, usually about 30 days. So if a file gets accidentally deleted and isn't noticed for 30 days, it can result in important data being lost forever.

Malicious deletion by hackers or disgruntled employees can result in practically the same scenario with the same result. Other causes of data loss can include loss of access to cloud account, either by hacking or wrongful accusations of ToS violations. 

Protecting data should be at the top of the list of cloud concerns for lawyers. Cloud apps bring flexibility, easy accessibility and high availability of data, but the risk of data loss due to human error or other factors is always there. That's where cloudHQ steps in and equalizes the risk. The cloudHQ service provides real-time, automated backup of cloud data so that even if human error or other factors cause data loss, your data remains protected in a completely separate account. Restoration is quick and simple, and can prevent negative outcomes to cases due to an incident of data loss.

• Top 10 Cloud Security Threats In 2013 (cloudhq.net)
• Top 5 Tips For Cloud Security (cloudhq.net)
• Demystifying Data Loss and Recovery (staples.com)
• Data loss - not someone else's problem (intechnology.co.uk)
• You Need Backups (terminally-incoherent.com)
• Malicious Mobile Apps: The New Threat To Small Businesses (cloudhq.net)
• Latest Survey from NIS Shows UK SMEs are Concerned about Security and Reliability of Cloud Services - with Connectivity an Issue for Many; for some the speed and reliability of broadband connectivity is a deterrent to Cloud adoption (hispanicbusiness.com)
• Data Backup: Cloud Computing vs. On-Site Options (staples.com)
• How Reliable is a Cloud Technology? (moderndignity.com)
• Cloud Storage Strategies Could Reduce Data Loss (eweek.com)

I'm sure if you use social media, at some point you have seen a popup window or a settings option to share your location. Sometimes webpages will also ask if they can use your location when you visit certain websites. Usually the location information that is asked for on social media sites is location information to be used in photos, events, check-ins, etc. If you haven't changed your location settings, your location can be pinpointed to within a few feet. 

As an example, let's say you take a photo with your smartphone and send it to your friend, upload it online or post it to a social media site. Anyone that has access to that file can simply download it and, if they are using Windows, right-click on the file and click on "Properties." Under the "Details" tab, there will be an option for Latitude and Longitude. These coordinates can be entered into Google Maps, which will then give them an exact location and possibly even a street view of the property if you are at a house or other building with an address. Coordinates can also be entered directly into a GPS unit, which can lead someone directly to where that photo was taken. Doesn't sound like a feature you want? Just go into your mobile device settings and disable the location settings on your camera. If you have kids, you should most definitely disable this feature on their phones to prevent pedophiles or other criminals from being able to easily access the location of the children. 

You may think there's not much you can do with an IP address, but you may just be surprised. There are several methods through which you can easily find your IP address including accessing your router settings, but the easiest way to find it is through a website such as http://www.whatismyip.com/. Now that you have that information, you can simply look it up using http://www.whatismyip.com/ip-tools/ip-address-lookup/, or you can go to an IP fraud prevention website such as http://www.maxmind.com/and enter the IP address. These sites will return information such as coordinates, zip code, cable provider name, and an approximate location. And of course the coordinates can be entered into Google Maps for a camera street view, printable directions, etc.

To ensure that you don't inadvertently give out location data, be sure all mobile location options are disabled. When posting on social networks, be sure you haven't given them permission to use your location in your posts. If you aren't sure or can't find the settings, you should at least disable your GPS and WiFi when you post to social networks or online forums to prevent your location from being broadcast to everyone that reads it. When you see a popup window that asks to use your location settings, deny the access. The threat is real- mobile location threat is ranked as the #3 threat of 2013 so far in a PCWorld study titled The 5 biggest online privacy threats of 2013 If you are worried about the use of location data in your law firm, you should check out this informative article for tips on how to prevent the threat from affecting your company: Mitigating security risks of mobile location-based services technology.

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• Keep Hiding Behind Your Screen, We Can Find You. (nsapunar.wordpress.com)
• Change Your IP address [H2B] INC. (hack2backsec.wordpress.com)