Smartcard honoured at new cyber awards
The Law Society of Scotland picked up the Leading Light Innovation award at the recently-held inaugural Scottish Cyber Awards in Edinburgh.
The panel of five judges awarded the Society for its Smartcard project which has seen over 9,500 Scottish solicitors issued with an online proof of identity and practising status, as well as a secure digital signature.
At a time when cybercrime is becoming an increasing threat to Scottish businesses, the Society’s Smartcard allows the legal profession to transact with clients and other solicitors online in a secure way.
As well as the technical abilities of the Smartcard, the entry for the award focussed on the innovative approach taken in delivering the card to Scottish solicitors, particularly those who work in rural areas and outside Scotland. In fact, there are now Scottish solicitors with a Smartcard working in Australia, the Middle East, the United States, Asia and across Europe.
Law Society of Scotland Chief Executive Lorna Jack said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have won the Leading Light Innovation Award at the first Scottish Cyber Awards. The Smartcard is a major part of the work we’re doing to help our members protect themselves and their clients from cybercrime and we’re very proud that our work has been recognised with this award in what was a very competitive category.”
A series of films explaining how the Smartcard can be used in a varierty of ways has also recently been launched.
The Law Society of Scotland Smartcard is sponsored by First Scottish.