ByrneWallace becomes first Irish law firm with ISO 27001 information security standard

Pictured (R:L): David Dinn, Director of Finance & Operations, Catherine Guy, Managing Partner, ByrneWallace; Rob Lyons, Sales Manager, Certification Europe; and John Kelly, IT Manager, ByrneWallace.      

ISO 27001 is the recognised international standard for information security management. It provides a best practice framework that helps organisations to proactively manage and mitigate the risks of data management, protecting against information threats and vulnerabilities and safeguarding client information. The standard provides a set of standardised requirements for an information security management system (ISMS) which ensures that the highest standard of controls are in place to address confidentiality, integrity and availability of information on customers, continual asset protection, IT governance and legal compliance.

Commenting on the certification, Catherine Guy, Managing Partner said, “Information security and cybersecurity is a primary risk for any business. The incidence of cyber attacks in Ireland has almost doubled since 2012 and having advised clients extensively on cybercrime and related issues including data protection we understand the potentially serious impact a security breach can have on a business and the growing need for every business, including professional advisers, to have in place adequate control mechanisms to mitigate such threats and safeguard client information.  Clients expect excellence from their advisers and they expect that their data is secure. 

“Having completed our research, we believed that obtaining ISO certification was the best way to ensure international best practice in data security management. Then following a comprehensive risk assessment process we began significantly enhancing all our data management processes and controls to the point where we passed the rigorous ISO 27001 test.

“This certification delivers an independently verified Information Security Management System which provides our clients with an extra level of assurance that ByrneWallace has a comprehensive and forward thinking approach to data security. It demonstrates the stability of our systems to both existing and future clients and provides peace of mind that proprietary data is and will always be fully confidential.”

Michael Brophy, CEO of Certification Europe & industry leading expert in ISO 27001 added: “A number of high-profile hacks and data breaches around the world in recent times has brought the issue of information technology security to the forefront of the world’s attention. Having achieved an ISO 27001 certification, we are confident that ByrneWallace has continually demonstrated their commitment to maintaining the confidentiality of its clients’ data and protecting this information from misuse, corruption or loss. The firm’s clients can be comfortable in the knowledge that ByrneWallace provides best practices for information security management."