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:
- CISA says 62,000 QNAP NAS devices have been infected with the QSnatch malware
July 27, 2020
Cyber-security agencies from the UK and the US have published today a joint security alert about QSnatch, a strain of malware that has been infecting network-attached storage (NAS) devices from Taiwanese device maker QNAP. In alerts by the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), ...
- Russian hackers tried to steal coronavirus vaccine – UK accuses Putin’s secretive spy team
July 16, 2020
The UK Government has released a joint statement with the US and Canada claiming Moscow has sought to infiltrate research from pharmaceutical companies and universities. It is believed Cozy Bear, a group linked to the Russian government, have sought to steal the information to help the country’s own efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The sophisticated ...
- Huawei 5G ban: UK networks must strip out equipment by 2027
July 14, 2020
UK mobile networks have been told they cannot buy any more 5G equipment from Huawei after the end of this year, and that they must remove the Chinese networking company’s technology from their 5G networks by the end of 2027. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Following US sanctions against Huawei and updated technical advice from our ...
- UK cyber security agency creates tool to test what would happen if you were hit by cyber attack while working from home
July 13, 2020
The UK’s official cyber security agency have created a tool to practise being cyber attacked. It has been launched as people continue to work from home in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus, often doing so over personal internet connections and computers. The tool allows people to test their defences by roleplaying the experience of ...
- Security funding soars despite Covid-19 slump, but problems lie ahead
July 8, 2020
The overall cyber security funding ecosystem in the UK is healthier than ever despite Covid-19, but the figures mask stark and concerning disparities in where the money is going Almost £500m has been invested in British cyber security startups in 2020 in spite of the economic slump caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, with the investment well on track ...
- Cosmetics giant Avon is recovering from a mysterious cyber-security incident
June 16, 2020
Avon has filed documents with the US Securities Exchange Commission disclosing the incident on June 9, a day after the company first discovered issues with some of its IT infrastructure. The company said the incident “interrupted some systems and partially affected operations.” Last week, Avon distributors reported problems accessing the company’s backend, where they usually file new product ...

