The importance of Trust
Data breaches, corporate re-structuring and collapses have alerted business to the value of an intangible ... trust.We are big advocates for the use of email as a communication medium rather than the paper documents of the past. Working in law firms and accounting firms though has always been at odds with "Paperless" and environmentally responsible communication.
I believe that as a profession it is no longer possible to ignore paperless processing. The time has come to embrace the challenges and implement features like electronic payments WITH the requisite controls.
Unfortunately we see a focus on the problem and not the solution. Electronic control systems can close fraud options that are available now.
A recent article in New Zealand is a case in point. OpenEFT would have prevented this fraud.
The conclusion that Lawyers and clients should be careful with emailed instructions could have been ensure you have systems and policies in place that address known risks.
The "don't trust email" advice came after an instance of email hacking where a hacker gained control of both a lawyer’s email account and a client’s email account. Posing as both, he instructed the lawyer to deposit client funds into his bank account and then emailed the client advising that everything was fine.
https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/lawtalk/issue-852/lawyers-and-clients-warned-to-be-careful-with-emailed-instructions
Mr Kennerley says the Law Society’s advice to lawyers and clients communicating with them is that they should assume the emails they receive may not be genuine.