According to the American Bar Association’s 2019 Legal Tech Report, 26% of law firms experienced some type of security breach in 2018. Although fortunately only 3% of the law firms affected reported compromised client data, the risk is real. As virtual work environments have become the norm at many law firms, accounting firms, and financial advisory firms, the issue of cybersecurity has landed squarely on the Internal Revenue Service’s radar.

In IR–2020–176, released on August 4, 2020, the IRS strongly recommends that every firm deploy a virtual private network (VPN) to guard against security threats. “As teleworking or working from home continues during the coronavirus,” the notice says, “VPNs are critical to protecting and securing internet connections."