Every attorney’s worst fear is a data breach that places their client’s information in jeopardy. This is a rational fear and with many platforms migrating to “the cloud” law firms need to understand what this process entails and how it impacts their client data security.

Demystifying “the cloud”

“The cloud” refers to offsite servers where immense amounts of data are stored in lieu of a server farm in the basement of a company. There is a lot of overhead costs involved in maintaining your own servers: IT personnel, climate control, huge space, etc. There are definite advantages to cloud based storage: accessibility, low overhead and ease of set up. However, as an attorney it is not enough to trust in “the cloud,” you need assurances that your client’s data is protected. Double check your server security: is your cloud based platform compliant with the stringent regulations, how do they screen for vulnerabilities and what physical security procedures does your provider employ?

Here at NextChapter we do not keep your data hostage; all of your client’s information is readily retrievable in a readable format that you can either take to another platform or store on your own. If you don’t trust your cloud platform it is important that you be able to retrieve your data and migrate it where you can trust in the security. Other bankruptcy programs do not offer this flexibility, and do not provide you with the ability to retrieve your data in a readable format. In that case, your client’s data is being held hostage. Make sure it’s you who maintains control over your client’s data and not your bankruptcy program.

NextChapter relies on Heroku for data storage and security. Heroku utilizes the secure servers of Amazon and employs many security measures. Heroku lists their server security compliance accreditations as: ISO 27001, SOC 1 and SOC 2/SSAE 16/ISAE 3402 (Previously SAS 70 Type II), PCI Level 1, FISMA Moderate, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).

Along with these certifications Heroku has military grade protections around the physical facilities with guards against environmental hazards as well as top-notch firewalls for virtual threats.

Encryption is an important component of data security and all of NextChapter’s data is transmitted through 256-bit encrypted connections because it’s not enough that data is secured at point A and point B, but also in between. NextChapter further protects users through vulnerability scans, protected billing information and multiple backups. Our data backups are replicated to two separate data centers with biweekly screens and daily backups: your data is 100% protected while being accessible.

In light of another bankruptcy software’s data loss it’s important to understand how cloud data is protected and how backups are managed. NextChapter has made data security a priority by checking backups regularly, practicing security protocols for data problems, performing third party audits and daily audits to help ensure your data is protected from security vulnerabilities and other online threats.

If you have any additional concerns or questions about your data in NextChapter, please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@nextchapterbk.com or check out the NextChapter security page.