Exclusive: Hicksons Lawyers boosts security with Netskope partnership

Hicksons Lawyers has undergone a significant cybersecurity transformation in recent years, with Head of Technology and Innovation Michael Barrett crediting a switch to Netskope for delivering greater visibility, flexibility, and protection across the firm's operations.

Barrett, who joined Hicksons nearly four and a half years ago from a not-for-profit sector role, said the legal industry had increasingly become a target for cybercriminals.

"The law industry, in general, started to become a lot more prominent for cyber actors," he said. "Like many law firms, we were slightly under-investing in security and cyber tools."

When Barrett arrived, the firm was using one of Netskope's competitors. But the experience quickly soured.

"The sales approach and the tactics used didn't sit well with me," he explained. "They kind of held a bit of a gun to my head... so I reached out to my peers to see who else was in the market. Netskope came through quite a few times, and it's been a very pleasant experience ever since."

From the outset, Barrett said Netskope stood out for its smooth onboarding and proof-of-value process.

"We stood it up within days," he said. "It was incredibly insightful in just how they operate and treat the customer... completely frictionless." The combination of commercial viability, advanced product roadmap, and responsive support made the decision a "no-brainer".

The firm's security overhaul included adopting a single lightweight agent for visibility over "every endpoint, every server, and every bit of infrastructure", spanning thousands of devices across offices and remote locations. The result was rapid detection and control of shadow IT.

"It allowed me to quickly squash a lot of unauthorised applications, protect my end users, and still allow exceptions for research or investigations," Barrett said.

A major focus has been embedding zero trust architecture, a journey Hicksons began around two and a half years ago. "Zero trust is now our gold standard," Barrett said. "When we acquired another business, we could containerise them instantly... they couldn't access anything until we'd done a full security review."

Netskope has also streamlined cloud usage management, replacing clunky, manual blocking tools with granular, role-based controls. This means urgent, time-sensitive requests – such as submitting a tender to a government portal – can be accommodated "within 60 seconds" without compromising overall security.

With a hybrid workforce – around 60% office-based and 40% remote – Barrett said Netskope's global network of data centres ensures consistent, low-latency access for staff in Australia and abroad.

"Whether they're in the UK, passing through Dubai, or sat in the office, they get the same unified experience with no compromise on security," he said.

One of the most valuable outcomes has been the ability to integrate newly acquired firms at speed. "Within a couple of days, we had full oversight of the entire organisation without buying expensive hardware or firewalls," Barrett said. "We could push a button and have complete oversight."

Netskope's data loss prevention capabilities have also bolstered the firm's defences. "It's given me great visibility over where my data is… and helped prevent potential breaches, whether accidental or malicious," Barrett said. Dashboards and analytics make it easier to investigate incidents and approve legitimate exceptions.

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has been another proving ground. "We could roll out policies faster than Netskope could publish them," Barrett said, describing how the firm classified AI sites and blocked sensitive data uploads. "That rapid evolution meant we could be on the front foot before the board even set a policy."

He said consolidating tools under Netskope had delivered cost efficiencies, particularly during mergers. "It meant I didn't have to buy expensive hardware for all the new offices," Barrett explained. "I can extend the reach and enrich what Netskope does with other security providers."

Looking ahead, Barrett is keeping a close watch on Netskope's roadmap, particularly in areas like software-defined networking for multi-site operations. "It expands my single pane of glass – which is a good thing for me," he said.

While "no news is good news" from the wider workforce, Barrett's team has been vocal about the speed and control the platform offers. "By the time we've sent the message back to the user, it's already taken effect for them," he said. "That's a massive wow factor for the team."

Reflecting on the journey, Barrett said the firm's security posture had been transformed – and without incident since implementing Netskope. "It's been a great pleasure working with Netskope over the past three and a half years," he said. "We're excited to see what new products they bring to the market going forward."

Netskope's global infrastructure plays a vital role in sustaining both security and performance.

All its security and networking services are hosted in local data centres built and owned by the company, ensuring users are always close to a point of presence. This design delivers strong protection with low latency for users anywhere in the world.

The network includes seven data centres across Australia and 117 across 75 regions and territories globally, making it the twelfth most interconnected network worldwide.