A “significant” amount of personal data, including criminal records, from applicants who requested legal assistance since 2010 has been stolen in a cyber attack, Great Britain’s legal assistance agency said on Monday (19).
The agency said it became aware of the attack on April 23 and worked with the National Crime Agency ever since.
On Friday (16), it was found that the attack had been broader than expected and that the invaders accessed information related to legal assistance applicants, forcing him to end his services online.
The agency said the group may have accessed personal information from the applicants, including addresses, birth dates, national identity numbers and financial data, such as contribution values, debts and payments.
“Since the discovery of the attack, my team has worked 24 hours a day with the National Cyber Security Center to reinforce the safety of our systems so that we can continue with the vital work of the agency safe,” said Jane Harbottle, executive director of the Legal Assistance Agency.
However, it was clear that to protect the service and its users, we needed to take radical measures. Therefore, we have made the decision to disable the online service.
Harbottle added that the agency, which is part of the Ministry of Justice, had current contingency plans and those who needed legal support could continue to have access to help.
British retailers Marks and Spencer MKS.Land Co-Op were the target of cyber attacks in April, with hackers passing by employees when contacting retailers’ IT help desks, according to the site specializing in technology bleepingcomputer.
M&S, which had suspended online orders, said earlier this month that some customer personal information was in ransomware attack, where criminals infiltrated the companies’ computer systems, encrypted and demanded payment before allowing them to retake control.
This content was originally published in personal data are stolen after Hacker attack in the United Kingdom on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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