Cyber warfare is no longer a distant threat reserved for governments and billion-dollar corporations. In this eye-opening episode of Counsel Cast, host Karin Conroy sits down with Tom Kirkham, cybersecurity expert and CEO of Kirkham Iron Tech, to reveal how AI, ransomware, deepfakes, and social engineering are now actively targeting law firms of every size.

From fake text messages and phishing emails that fool even seasoned professionals, to nation-state level cyber weapons being used against small firms, Tom explains why no law firm is too small to be a target and why human behavior, not just technology, is the weakest link in every breach.

They break down the real cost of ransomware attacks, why paying the ransom is often only the beginning, how long-term backdoors are planted during “simple” attacks, and why 40–60 percent of small businesses never recover after a major cyber incident.

This episode delivers a clear message. Cybersecurity is no longer optional. It is a core leadership responsibility.

📌 You’ll learn:

• Why ransomware is now the number one cyber threat facing law firms
• How AI is being used by both hackers and defenders
• What “Human In The Loop” security really means
• Why 95 percent of major cyber breaches begin with human error
• How deepfakes and voice cloning are already disrupting trust in legal systems
• What an EDR is and why every firm must have one
• Why IT and cybersecurity are two different specialties
• How law firms become targets through LinkedIn and public data
• The true cost of a law firm being down for just one hour
• Why cybersecurity awareness training is the cheapest and most powerful defense
• How ransomware attacks often hide advanced persistent threats inside them
• What law firm leaders must stop delegating and start owning

💡 Featuring:

• Real-world case examples of ransomware attacks against small and mid-sized law firms, behind-the-scenes breakdowns of how nation-state cyber weapons trickle into everyday business attacks, and firsthand stories of long-con scams like “pig butchering” that quietly drain trust before the real breach hits. Tom shares how AI is now used to scrape LinkedIn, map law firm org charts, clone voices, and generate flawless phishing campaigns that bypass traditional spam filters. 

Karin and Tom give listeners actionable tips on:

• 0:00 Introduction and today’s cyber threat landscape
• 1:00 How cyber attacks have evolved with AI
• 5:00 Why ransomware is still the greatest threat to law firms
• 9:00 Why law firms are valuable targets, even the smallest ones
• 12:00 The danger of putting confidential information into AI tools
• 15:00 Deepfakes, voice cloning, and erosion of trust
• 19:00 Why most security breaches are caused by human behavior
• 23:00 The rise of long-con scams and “pig butchering” fraud
• 26:00 How attackers use LinkedIn and public data to target firms
• 30:00 Why firing the employee who clicked is the wrong response
• 33:00 The NIST Framework and the five pillars of cybersecurity
• 38:00 How EDR tools actually stop modern attacks
• 41:00 Business continuity, disaster recovery, and real downtime costs
• 45:00 The financial reality of cybersecurity investment
• 48:00 Why 40–60 percent of small firms never recover from breaches
• 50:00 Book recommendation and the role of culture in security
• 57:00 The first step every firm should take today
• 1:01:00 Final thoughts on leadership, responsibility, and action

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth

Connect with Tom:

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/MVsyN0464ZM 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirkhamirontech/ 
• Twitter: https://x.com/kirkhamirontech
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/51698665/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirkhamirontech 
• https://www.kirkhamirontech.com 

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