The number of successful cyber attacks against UK law firms rose by 77% in the past year to 954, up from 538 the year before, according to a new study of the threat. Chartered accountants Lubbock Fine said that the wave is driven by criminals seeing law firms as prime targets for ransomware attacks or blackmail.
This is due to the sensitive personal and financial information they hold, which hackers can sell on the dark web or threaten to publish on the internet. Earlier this month, a global survey revealed that ransomware attackers have been paid off at least eight times in recent years.
Read more…
Source: The Law Society Gazette
Related:
- UK: Basic IT security failings left electoral register vulnerable
July 30, 2024
Basic IT security failings allowed Chinese state-linked hackers to access the election watchdog’s register containing the details of 40 million voters. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the Electoral Commission had failed to keep its servers updated, allowing hackers to exploit the vulnerability. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, has previously said it ...
- UK: 48 cyber breaches of utility companies recorded last year, a 586% increase on 2022
July 29, 2024
The number of successful cyber attacks against UK utility companies has risen to 48 in 2023, a 586% increase on the seven cases in 2022, says global specialty (re)insurance group Chaucer. So far these cyber attacks have been largely restricted to the theft of data or ransomware attacks. There have been concerns that cyber attacks designed ...
- Northern Ireland: Man arrested in connection with PSNI data breach
July 29, 2024
Detectives investigating criminality linked to the PSNI data breach have arrested a 54-year-old man. Data relating to all 9,483 PSNI officers and staff was mistakenly included in a spreadsheet published online last August in response to a freedom of information request. The list included the surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, ...
- Guernsey: Warning after spike in cyber-attacks
July 25, 2024
Authorities have warned organisations to take extra measures to protect their IT systems after a spike in cyber-attacks in Guernsey. The Office of the Data Protection Authority (ODPA) said some Microsoft 365 systems had been compromised by phishing attacks, where someone is tricked into giving out information over email. It warned criminals were becoming increasingly adept ...
- UK teen arrested for alleged role in MGM Resorts cyberattack
July 21, 2024
A 17-year-old boy from Walsall has been arrested in connection with the September 2023 cyberattack that crippled MGM Resorts for several days. The West Midlands Police, working alongside the FBI and the National Crime Agency (NCA), apprehended the teenager on Thursday, 18th July, on suspicion of violating the UK’s Computer Misuse Act and blackmail offenses. Authorities ...
- HS2 investigating possible misconduct tied to ‘serious’ data breach
July 18, 2024
HS2 has launched a formal investigation into allegations of gross misconduct tied to a “serious” data breach earlier in the year, City A.M. understands. Sources allege the incident took place in late May. HS2 Ltd, the company sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) to oversee the project, subsequently began an investigation into a potential significant ...

