Solving law firms’ vendor access-security dilemma

By the Imprivata editorial team

Law firms need to give third-party vendors quick, easy access to their data. These eight best practices can help ensure that access doesn’t create security risks enabling breaches.


The increasingly complex operating environment of today’s law firms is challenging by any measure. As part of that, keeping the wheels turning to maximize ROI requires the hands-on support of third-party vendors, who ensure that networks, systems, and apps are firing on all cylinders, 24/7.

But therein lies the rub – and an alarming dilemma. While vendors need quick, easy access, that needs to happen without jeopardizing data security. When a vendor is compromised, your clients’ most sensitive information can become collateral damage, and the impact runs deep and wide. Here’s a look at the key issues involved, and best practices law firms can employ to ensure efficient, secure third-party access.

The crucial third-party vendor role

Firms of all shapes and sizes routinely integrate with niche SaaS tools, contract IT providers, court and research platforms, service bureaus, and more to help with areas including e-discovery, document management, and cloud file transfer.

Those integrations accelerate due diligence, production, billing, and collaboration. They also enable flexible staffing and cost control. The flip side is a risky web of vulnerability: every vendor connection supporting these efforts — API keys, VPN tunnels, remote desktops, and file-transfer workflows — becomes a potential foothold for attackers.

Why law firms are lucrative targets

Because of the highly sensitive information they hold, firms are treasure vaults of confidential, monetizable data across multiple industries, often holding high value on the black market. And the most valuable prizes include M&A term sheets, health and HR files, IP drafts, litigation strategy, and regulator-facing correspondence.

As a result, one breach can yield leverage against dozens of blue-chip clients. That makes firms “one-stop shops” for sophisticated cybercriminals, with ransomware attacks serving as an especially effective approach. This prime-target scenario harkens back to the infamous reply attributed to Willie Sutton about why he robs banks: “Because that’s where the money is.”

How bad actors infiltrate firms via vendors

Attackers looking to gain entry increasingly bypass a firm’s front door and come in through a vendor partner. Common patterns include:

  • Compromised vendor credentials: Reused or stolen via phishing, malware, or dark-market purchase credentials are then used to access remote support tools or VPNs.
  • Exploitation of widely deployed third-party software: This includes apps used by firms and their vendors (e.g., file-transfer platforms). For example, MOVEit exploitation led to litigation naming multiple organizations, including a major U.S. law firm, after attackers mass-exfiltrated data through a supply-chain vulnerability. Reuters
  • Weak or over-broad network paths: VPNs and shared admin accounts create opportunities for lateral movement once a vendor session is hijacked. DBIR trendlines show growth in vulnerability exploitation and partner-driven breach paths, amplifying the risk when controls are flat or trust is implicit. Security Today

The numbers paint a risky picture

Recent surveys and reports provide real-world perspective on the frequency and severity of the risks at hand:

  • Multi-industry perspective: A recent survey found that 47% of respondents experienced a data breach or cyberattack in the past year stemming from third-party vendors. Ponemon Institute report
  • Legal landscape prevalence: A 2024 industry survey reported roughly 4 in 10 law firms experienced a security breach in the prior year, with consequences ranging from data loss to reputational harm. Legal Dive
  • Third-party factor: The DBIR 2025 notes third-party involvement in about 30% of breaches, reflecting the expanding supplier ecosystem. Yahoo Finance
  • Financial impact: Legal market research estimates the average cost of a law firm data breach at roughly $5M in 2024 (inclusive of response, downtime, legal exposure, and lost business) — figures consistent with broader enterprise breach-cost studies. Embroker

The true cost of a law firm breach

The immediate expenses — DFIR retainers, legal counsel, PR, credit monitoring, and downtime — are only part of the damage. Looking at the broader picture, firms face:

  • Regulatory scrutiny and litigation: This includes class actions after personal data exposure. Recent cases highlight plaintiffs targeting firms themselves when vendor or platform compromises lead to client data loss. Reuters
  • Client trust erosion and lost revenue: With little tolerance for weak security postures, corporate clients now require security questionnaires and audits as prerequisites for engagements.
  • Operational drag: Firms contend with prolonged investigation and remediation delays and related issues, while staff time shifts from billable work to containment and reporting.

What you can do: Eight best practices to help mitigate access risks

Here are important steps you can take now to enhance your vendor management strategy:

  1. Build a third-party risk management program

    Start by stepping back and considering your environment. Map out your systems and define what data flows through them. Then identify what type of assessment is necessary based on your industry, data volume, and sensitivity, as well as regulatory exposure and risk tolerance.

  2. Start with due diligence, compliance, and documentation

    A vital next step is due diligence – conduct vendor security assessments to evaluate their protocols. Lay the groundwork by documenting your compliance standards so you can determine both internal and external obligations.

  3. Set legal and contractual expectations

    Establish strong contracts, particularly with pass-through obligations. That involves ensuring your third-party vendors impose your security requirements on their vendors (your fourth parties). Legal clauses should address audit rights, limitation of liability, and indemnity.

  4. Instill better access controls (beyond VPN)

    Advance past risky VPN use to a vendor access approach that’s purpose-driven and time-bound. In addition, regularly conducted audits are essential to ensure vendors meet agreed standards not just initially, but throughout the relationship.

  5. Get the full picture with data mapping and inventory management

    Data maps and inventories can help you get a handle on questions including: Do you know where your data is going? Who’s accessing it and how? Where is it being stored? Misplaced or untracked data expands your risk landscape and complicates breach response.

  6. Control access with precision

    Access control should be focused on minimum necessary access. What does someone really need? What’s absolutely required? Use those answers to define access permissions. If vendors understand the legal and risk implications of broader access, they’re often more willing to limit their exposure.

  7. Audit and monitor access

    Audit trails are crucial. Every third-party session should capture who got in, what they did, why, when, and whether any data was pulled or changed. This allows for a clear picture of what went wrong, enabling full traceability while supporting incident response and accountability.

  8. Manage offboarding and inactive accounts

    Dormant accounts left open after offboarding are problematic. That’s why it’s important to ensure access expires with the contract or due to inactivity. This requires fail-safes and automation capabilities, including setting access expiration dates that synch with contract timelines. 

How Imprivata helps firms improve third-party identity management

Imprivata has a proven track record of helping organizations secure third-party access, while improving efficiencies, boosting productivity, and simplifying management via a single platform. Imprivata Vendor Privileged Access Management (formerly SecureLink Enterprise Access) enables firms to provide vendors with Zero-Trust access to privileged assets and minimize risks associated with traditional remote access methods such as VPNs.

Solution features include:

  • Granular access controls: Use fine-grained controls to provide least-privilege access to only what’s needed when it’s needed
  • Credential management: Store usernames and passwords in a secure credential vault with credential rotation and automatically inject credentials directly into sessions – reducing the risk of password sharing
  • Audit logs and session recordings: Gain visibility into vendor sessions and activity with detailed audit logs and session recordings
  • Third-party onboarding and identity management: Allow new vendors to self-register and enable your team to quickly and easily verify their identities
  • Universal access methods: Support the unique connectivity requirements of your vendors with a wide variety of TCP- and UDP-based protocols

To learn more about how Imprivata can help law firms solve the vendor access-security dilemma, click here.