Keep Privileged Conversations Privileged

XQ creates synergy between SMART lawyers and SMART data

The Threat

Sensitive information is routinely passed between attorneys, clients, and government bodies through unsecured emails--easy targets for hackers. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), 2019 saw 26% of law firms report a security breach, with more than a quarter of those firms reporting that they were unaware that an attack had occurred. 

In an effort to increase awareness and address industry-wide concerns, the ABA has issued new guidance to law firms and amended its code of conduct. Attorneys are now obliged to ensure that the communication platforms they use are secure. The ABA requires that firms use encryption when the nature of the information requires it or a client requests its use. While the impetus to take protective measures has always been on the firm, the implementation of new rules now makes the penalties more severe. Cyber attacks can now result in disciplinary action from the ABA, as well as the loss of reputation and legal action from clients. 

The strain on firms will continue to grow as emerging smart networks increase connectivity and thus the difficulty of keeping privileged information away from prying eyes as it moves across networks. More and more information originates from mobile endpoints, creating a prodigious routing and management challenge for firms. You’ll need to be able to manage how it moves, where it ends up, and who sees it. At present, firms—particularly smaller ones—do not have the capability to do this, a liability to their clients and themselves.

XQ’s Solution

XQ provides advanced ephemeral encryption, routing, and management product that meets and exceeds ABA guidelines and industry best practices. We’ve developed a cross-platform edge encryption system that works across all of the most commonly used messaging platforms and does not conflict with existing security systems. We also provide data management and tracking so you see who sees your data. 

Our product combats the threats of today, as well as being future-proofed for the emerging threats tomorrow. The system is the most secure, transparent, and easiest to use encryption system on the market. XQ is the first mobile data protection solution to be built around Zero Trust architecture. With Zero Trust, users don’t need to trust the system. XQ never handles your data, only policy-based key distribution. With our API platform and SDKs, you have the option of key control with direct integration into your AWS or Azure server. 

Our proprietary ephemeral encryption software embeds directly into the messaging platforms, providing military-grade encryption. With XQ, your messages and files sent through Gmail, Outlook, iOS, Android, and Slack can all be encrypted. Messages sent across these platforms will remain encrypted, ensuring the utmost security. 

Our management and routing services are helping to make SMART infrastructure integral to the legal practice. Most products are built to exclusively cater to emerging technologies and neglect existing digital architecture. XQ prevents the nightmare law firms will face by integrating existing data governance tools with emerging technologies. We facilitate interoperability across networks through our SMART system, making routing and management a breeze. XQ is also built to scale as your network grows as new mobile apps and infrastructure is added.

 

Legal Use Cases

 
 

We built XQ with attorneys in mind. See how we’re working to protect you and your clients.

Privileged Communications

 

Today, there is no such notion as “privileged communications”: If you’ve ever emailed or texted with a client, litigant, or witness you’ve probably compromised confidential information.

XQ is the first system to secure privileged conversations both at the office, home or on the go. With XQ’s secure mobile cross-platform tools, you and your clients can have peace of mind that your conversations are safe whether you’re in a deposition or picking your kid up from daycare.

 

Secure Documentation

 

Any documentation passed amongst attorneys, clients, and third parties is inherently private and must be secured. Affidavits, contracts, demand letters, and other documents regularly pass unsecured with little in the way of security protocols. For many firms, adding a password to a PDF is considered an “advanced security procedure.” In reality, it is a token display to allay client fears and doesn't protect the document or remove liability.

At XQ we’ve built our product around making advanced encryption the default for document and file exchange. Our cross-platform model makes it easy to encrypt and send files from all your favorite apps and devices, meaning you can take encryption with you on the go. Clients can use XQ for free, allowing them to send encrypted documents and making trust a two-way street.

Let’s say you and your team are negotiating an M&A transaction on behalf of a buyer at a target company’s office. If you’re dealing with a savvy firm, you can guarantee that your communications are being monitored. In these instances operational security and timeliness are key. Your team needs to be able to send draft agreements and updates to your client quickly and securely. Luckily, you insist on XQ, meaning terms you draft in the negotiating room can be directly encrypted on your laptop and sent straight to your client’s smartphone for decryption. Now dealmakers can make any negotiating room their home turf.

For maximum security, you can use our API and SDKs to encrypt all of your firm’s outgoing documents. Our API and SDKs operate server-side to build ephemeral encryption directly into your organization. Once XQ’s API and SDKs are implemented in your AWS or Azure server, all of your firm’s contracts and documents that are sent to clients, attorneys, and third parties will be automatically encrypted.

Email Tracking

 

Sending a demand letter via email? How do you know the target actually got the message? 

When you encrypt a message with XQ, you also get the added benefit of a spoof-proof email tracking system. Using the XQ dashboard, you can track in real-time whether an email was received, read, and any attempts to decrypt the message. If you see an alert about an attempt to decrypt by someone other than the intended recipient, you can immediately revoke the email. 

Now you can be sure when sending a demand letter that it reaches its intended recipient and will be notified when they open and read the message. If you eventually need to pursue litigation, you have documented evidence of delivery. No more “mailer-daemon ate my message.”

Audit & Compliance

 

What happens if one of your clients is audited and needed to prove they complied with local regulations. Do you know how to organize encryption data for auditing and compliance purposes?

You shouldn’t have to. With XQ, all of your encryption data (including keys) is available for export for audit and compliance purposes. When you use XQ, complying with an audit is just a couple of clicks away. 

Additionally, XQ offers key control for data ownership to take us completely out of the loop and allow you to own your data.

 

Features

Learn about our features and how we’re working to secure your business.

 
 

Encrypted Messaging

 

XQ’s quantum encryption model works cross-platform, allowing for seamless communication with clients and coworkers. With XQ, encryption takes place within the app environment, meaning we never see your data and it is never stored in the cloud. Our system makes it impossible for both the encrypted message and the key to be intercepted together. As added layers of security, you can set a message password needed to initiate decryption and a message expiration date.

File Encryption

 

The same XQ ephemeral encryption architecture for messages also applies to files. Commonly exchanged documents in mortgage transactions contain highly sensitive lendee information, necessitating high degrees of discretion and security. With XQ, files can be encrypted and sent cross-platform, with the added level of security in a password and expiration date.

Enterprise Dashboard

 

XQ’s dashboard product allows businesses of any size to create a secure environment that extends outside their organization to include patients, vendors, and other third parties. The dashboard can turn anyone into a security manager and takes just 15 minutes to set up. It allows the manager to create and provision team members, monitor threats in real-time, and monitor team encryption activity. The real-time threat assessment function is the most accurate email tracking system in the market, with real-time updates on attempts to decrypt, read receipts, and the ability to revoke and kill a message. Managers can also set organization policies that limit which platforms XQ encryption can be used in their organization and the expiration dates for messages. The dashboard is optimized for audit and compliance purposes, facilitating data ownership and key control.

API Platform + SDKs

 

The XQ API platform can be directly integrated into your AWS or Azure server to take complete ownership of your data and streamline encryption practices. With our SDKs, you can automate encryption in your server and mobile application. We’ve refined our SDKs while working with mortgage lenders to develop server-side encryption. The XQ SDKs are being used by mortgage lenders to automatically encrypt all outgoing contracts and insecure communications with lendees.