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 MoD teams up with TechVets to train veterans in cyber security
August 15, 2018
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a partnership agreement with the not-for-profit start-up TechVets to help veterans get jobs in the cyber security and technology sector, TechVets, which specialises in helping veterans get jobs in the tech sector, will work with the MOD’s flagship training programme for service leavers, under a new agreement. The agreement will ...
- Cyber attacks are now a matter of when not if for UK businesses
July 2, 2018
For a growing number of UK companies, being hit by a cyber breach is not a matter of ‘if’ – it’s a matter of ‘when’. This is according to a new report by KPMG based on a poll of 150 UK leaders. When compared to the rest of the world, though, the UK is performing well, as according to ...
- There’s a new £13.5m government-backed London office for cyber security innovation opening today at Plexal
June 26, 2018
The London Office for Rapid Cyber security Advancement (LORCA) has officially opened its doors today in East London. Launched by digital secretary Matt Hancock, LORCA will be run by tech innovation centre Plexal, located on the Here East digital campus inside Plexal City. The government-backed £13.5m centre will help the UK’s newest cyber security startups on their ...
- UK Tax Agency Collects 5.1M Biometric Voice IDs, May Violate GDPR
June 24, 2018
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK is under investigation by that country’s regulator over the collection of more than 5 million biometric voice IDs. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating the tax agency’s practice, which may violate the recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation, following an official complaint from watchdog group Big ...
- GCHQ chief highlights UK’s ‘critical role’ in thwarting European attacks
June 19, 2018
Speaking after meetings at NATO’s Brussels headquarters, Jeremy Fleming cited GCHQ’s involvement in disrupting terrorist activity on the continent in a bid to highlight the importance of UK-EU security links. The comments will be viewed in some quarters as a pointed intervention in the Brexit debate, coming hot on the heels of remarks by the EU’s chief ...
- Yahoo fined £250,000 by UK watchdog over data breach
June 13, 2018
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Yahoo £250,000 over a data breach which occurred in 2014. The data breach resulted in the theft of at least 500 million records. It is believed that names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and some “encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers” were compromised. Yahoo has ...