A small firm's technology risk is not downtime, it is confidentiality. Who can open which client file, what happens to access when someone leaves, and whether a client's information could leave the firm without anyone noticing. Those questions decide the setup, and increasingly clients ask them in writing before they sign.
What we usually find in Reston
Reston firms act for corporate and technology clients, which means security questionnaires arrive as a condition of engagement rather than an afterthought. Having the basics documented turns that from a scramble into a form-filling exercise.
Access is the whole question
Client matters should be reachable by the people working them and nobody else, including the person who left last year whose account is still active. Getting this right is unglamorous, cheap, and the thing a client questionnaire actually probes.
Email is where firms lose control of a file
The specific failure we look for is a mail rule quietly forwarding to a personal address, which is how client material leaves a firm without a breach in the dramatic sense. Multi-factor authentication and rule auditing close most of it.
Shared buildings and shared risers
In a downtown professional building you rarely control the wiring closet or the incoming service. The firm's network has to stand on its own rather than assume the building is a boundary.
Client security questionnaires arrive here first
Firms in the denser commercial areas tend to act for larger clients, and larger clients send questionnaires. Being able to answer with evidence rather than adjectives is a commercial advantage, not just a safety one.
Questions from Reston businesses
- Do you look after law firms in Reston?
- Yes. Reston is inside our service area and this is work we do regularly. Most issues are fixed remotely the same day, and when a visit is the right answer the time is quoted before anyone drives out.
- How quickly can someone get to us in Reston?
- Reston is within the 30 mile radius we work in, so same day is normal rather than exceptional. The phone is answered 24/7 and technicians are available weekdays 8am to 6pm.
- A client sent us a security questionnaire. Can you help answer it?
- Yes, and we would rather help you answer it honestly than help you tick boxes. Most of what they ask about is multi-factor authentication, backup, access control and what happens when staff leave.
- Is our document management system backed up?
- We test that rather than assume it. Document systems often have their own backup requirements that were never set up alongside the file server backup.
- Someone left the firm months ago. Does their account matter?
- It matters a great deal, particularly if it still receives mail or has access to matters. Offboarding should be a written checklist rather than something remembered.
- Can staff work securely from home?
- Yes, and it is mostly about the account rather than the location. Multi-factor authentication and managed devices do more than a VPN alone.
- How do we send a document to a client securely?
- There are a few reasonable options depending on how your clients work. We will pick the one your clients will actually use, because a secure method nobody uses is worse than a simple one everybody does.
- Do you have access to our client files?
- Only what is needed to do the work, and it is logged. We will put that in writing if your professional obligations require it.
Talk to someone in Reston
Fifteen minutes on the phone. If we are not the right fit for your business we will say so.
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