OneSearch Direct becomes first search provider to help solicitors fight back against cyber-crime


OneSearch200OneSearch Direct, one of the UK’s leading property search firms, is proud to announce that it will be joining forces with Fresh Skies to offer mkryptor email encryption, winner of the IFSEC Awards Cyber Security Solution of the Year. In an exclusive arrangement, OneSearch Direct will become the first search provider to offer solicitors a solution to ensure any confidential and private emails with their clients can be exchanged securely, and protect firms against cyber attacks.

mkryptor protects the exchange of confidential email content and, uniquely, requires no software at the recipient’s end, as the encryption is held within the email itself. The encryption tool is extremely easy to use and is available for all solicitors using OneSearch Direct, giving an uncompromising safeguard against the ever-increasing threat of cyber-crime that plagues the industry.

In the SRA’s latest Risk Outlook, firms were advised to check their systems for guarding against cybercrime attacks. This was due to a spike in reports of fraudulent activity, including email interception, specifically targeting the conveyancing industry. Only last month, the media reported[i] how fraudsters stole £340,000 from one property sale, by hacking into a solicitor’s email conversation. A similar incident was reported[ii] in the case of Vivian Gabb, who was tricked into paying almost £50,000 to a fraudster who set up an email address under the same name as her solicitor.

Liz Jarvis, managing director of OneSearch Direct, said: “OneSearch Direct have a long-established history in securing a ‘best practice’ approach, with an exemplary PI claims record to back this up. With mkryptor, we hope to lead the way in protecting solicitors against email fraud. It’s a progressive concept now, but I believe email encryption will one day become an industry standard in securing compliance.”

Simon Freeman, CEO of Fresh Skies, commented: “The impact of cyber crime can no longer be ignored. Many regulatory authorities realise this, such as the Pensions Ombudsman Service, who have chosen mkryptor to protect their emails, and it’s only a matter of time before the conveyancing industry will follow suit. Gone are the days when legal firms simply add a disclaimer to the bottom of emails to satisfy requirements. When they find out how easy email encryption is, they will move quickly to protect both their clients and their own reputation.”

Priya Anand Patel, head of compliance at Legal Eye, added: ” Bogus firms are very real, and solicitors have a liability to detect any imposters. Firms must evaluate and monitor the risk of transacting with fraudulent individuals. The most recent SRA Risk Outlook goes some way to give guidance to firms to help mitigate these risks, not least the consideration to utilise email encryption techniques for particularly sensitive information.

“Data protection and confidentiality breaches can be the most ‘frequent’ of breaches recorded in a firm’s risk register; each breach may be material or become material (if reoccurring), which is, of course, reportable to the SRA. mkryptor provides a solution to firms to demonstrate they are proactively taking steps to mitigate these risks. The product offered by mkryptor is an easy system, and works well in practice.  We are very pleased that OneSearch and mkryptor are working together to highlight the importance of email security to the conveyancing industry, and that this email encryption is now accessible to firms, to enable them to evidence compliance with these key areas.”

OneSearch Direct will be offering exclusive discounts on mkryptor’s award winning solutions for individual email accounts and company server solutions.

For more information call OneSearch Direct on 0800 052 0117, or email pmaillardet@onesearchdirect.co.uk.

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