Most of today’s small to medium-sized law firms are slower and more cautious to upgrade their technology. According to a recent International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) report, law firms cite the following as top reasons for delaying potentially much-needed technology upgrades:
Interestingly, per the same report, less than 1/3 of law firms believe that funding or leadership buy-in drive their decisions to hold off on IT upgrades. However, nearly 1/5th of law firms were concerned with a lack of skills on the part of their IT staff.
The ILTA data cited above shows that a majority of law firms believe that neither budget nor buy-in prevent them from upgrading their IT, which eliminates two of the largest barriers to a better technology stack.
Law firms are more concerned about making it over the learning curve and finding the time for training on new technologies, which they may presume difficult due to the fast-paced business of law.
However, a more enticing (and perhaps frightening) reason for upgrading may outweigh the cost of time: cybersecurity.
In 2023, roughly 40% of law firms experienced a security breach, according to AboveTheLaw and ArcticWolf, and 1,055 attacks hit the legal sector every single week that same year. These numbers are only expected to rise as 2024 and 2025 data is finalized for reporting.
Nearly 40% of clients would consider leaving the firm altogether if a breach occurred, says Integris. Conversely, over 1/3rd of clients would pay a premium in order to work with a more cybersecure law firm.
With client trust, compliance, and protection of the business at top of mind for consumers and legal professionals alike, the risks of adopting a new technology can far outweigh the risks of sticking to the same-old stack—especially when the cost of a data breach has soared to roughly $4.88 million dollars, per Thomson Reuters.
Legacy technologies steadily increase your law firm’s cyber risk, serving as an easy “in” for hackers and making recovery from incidents increasingly difficult. Here are the top 5 ways your old technology can undermine your law firm’s cybersecurity posture and leave you vulnerable.
Older software and hardware eventually reach their “end-of-life,” a term that refers to two major changes:
1. The end or reduction of manufacturer-provided customer support, and
2. The end or reduction of manufacturer-provided security updates.
Using technology past its end-of-life deadline opens your law firm up to increased risks of attack and leaves you with less resources to mitigate security threats. Manufacturers typically provide security updates and patches to address vulnerabilities that may be discovered in their solutions. Often, security updates are released regularly, with special patches and updates urgently available to address emerging issues.
Most manufacturers cease regular updates when a solution reaches end-of-life. They may only release updates and patches for severe security issues—and sometimes, they release none at all. Even if access is extended, security updates will typically be limited and will likely end after a short, set period of time.
In the event of a breach, which becomes more likely to occur as security wanes, you may not be able to access any form of customer support for the product. This leaves your firm scrambling to find third-party help that can still address issues with the outdated product, and who may not be experts like the manufacturer’s own in-house support teams. This third party likely won’t be able to escalate the issue to the manufacturer, which could lead to a dead end in the pursuit of a resolution.
Most law firms have stringent compliance requirements, such as CCPA, HIPAA, or GDPR. These are technology standards that your law firm is required to meet in order to avoid consequences of non-compliance, which can include fines, lawsuits, regulatory enforcement, and more—not to mention damage to your law firm’s reputation.
Often, these guidelines include security maintenance, which may be impossible if your software is past its end-of-life. Compliance requirements can also include:
The older your solutions become, the more difficult it becomes to comply with these requirements. If your regulatory body includes rules about hardware and software age, security update regularity, or access controls, you will likely find it difficult to maintain compliance as your solution quality, compatibility, and manufacturer support degrade.
Many businesses, including law firms, rely on cyber insurance to help rescue their business in the event of a breach. When was the last time you viewed your cyber insurance policy or audited your law firm’s technology to ensure compliance with your insurer’s terms?
Like regulatory bodies, insurance companies often require regular updates and patches in order to mitigate risk and proactively prevent claims from occurring. If these updates are unavailable for your current technology, and you are breached either subsequently or in an unrelated event, your claim may be denied due to policy non-compliance.
The average cost of a cyberattack is nearly $5 million—a cost that could topple a small or medium-sized law firm if coverage is denied.
Due to the risks incurred, insurance companies may refuse to cover outdated technologies, and may fault your law firm for failing to replace them as their security degraded. Per LegalClarity:
“Another frequent exclusion is coverage for pre-existing vulnerabilities. If an attack exploits a known security flaw that the policyholder failed to address, the insurer may deny the claim. Policies often require businesses to implement reasonable cybersecurity measures, such as patching software and maintaining firewalls, to remain eligible. Failure to meet these conditions can void claims, even if the attack was unforeseeable.”
Like any subject, the longer you study technology, the more deeply you’ll understand it. Hackers dedicate countless hours to discovering vulnerabilities in the technology you’re using—and the longer a product has been on the market, the longer hackers have had to study it. As the security guardrails fall off when a technology ages, it becomes even easier to exploit the vulnerabilities they’ve had so long to uncover. The technology becomes weaker with age, making it even more vulnerable to certain types of attacks that drain resources.
Just weeks ago in August 2025, the FBI released a warning about legacy technology. Per MSN:
“Russian government hackers are raiding aging routers and switches to slip into US critical infrastructure, the FBI is warning.
The agency is urging organizations to lock down legacy gear before it opens the door to bigger attacks in an alert issued on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
An end-of-life (EOL) networking device is hardware, like a router or switch, that a manufacturer no longer supports or patches. Without updates, these devices are easier to compromise and may struggle with newer technologies or heavier data loads.”
For your law firm, dated technology is a recipe for disaster, because to hackers, it makes for an easy success story. Older technology has been studied and understood by bad actors, creating familiarity with the intricacies of the systems they attempt to breach. As it ages and reaches end-of-life status, updates shrink and reduce in frequency.
It’s a race to the finish—can hackers discover and exploit a vulnerability before you patch it? When it comes to older technology, the answer is usually “yes.”
Certain types of cyberattacks reduce performance at your law firm, any may manifest as lagging, sluggish technology. Examples include:
These attacks can run in the background, and some may even present no obvious signs that something is amiss. When your technology is already slowing with age, it can be even more difficult to fend off these attacks—and nearly impossible, without the safeguards of modern technology, to remediate.
One of the first things your law firm can do today is: check the end-of-life date on your current software. For example, Windows 10 will reach its end-of-life on October 14th, 2025—yet 45% of Windows users are still on this instance. If you note that an end-of-life date is approaching, it’s time to make a decision about upgrading and begin taking the necessary steps to do so prior to the deadline.
You can also review your cyber insurance policy to confirm compliance with their terms and conditions. Adhering to the rules of eligibility could help you mitigate some losses that may occur as a result of a breach by potentially improving your chances of utilizing your coverage. This includes evaluating terms such as routine security updates and known risks, and ensuring you are within the insurer’s guidelines.
Lastly, you can engage a technology partner, like an MSP or vCIO, who can help you evaluate your current technology risks, address your concerns about transitioning to new tools, and help you roadmap a successful IT future.
A great legal IT partner can help you:
As a trusted legal IT partner to thousands of law firm users, Strategic Technology Solutions is a premiere resource for IT modernization and risk mitigation. We use globally-trusted security standards to form a baseline of cybersecurity and guide our technology decision-making, helping law firms stay as safe as possible.
We are well-versed in the compliance standards of the legal industry, and we have partnered with many law firms to help them reach their risk reduction goals. As a SOC 2 Type II compliant organization, we possess a superior level of security that helps keep our clients safe, and a unique knowledge of the processes and controls required to truly safeguard your organization.
To start your upgrade journey with a safe and experienced IT modernization partner, get in touch today.