World

UK Legal Aid Data Breach: Personal info compromised in cyber attack

The British’s Legal Aid Agency made it clear on Monday that, a “large” number of personal data, including criminal records, of applicants individuals who had submitted application for legal aid services since 2010 was hacked and data was stolen in a cyber attack.

It said it became received notice of the hacking incident on April 23 and had worked with the National Crime Agency from that period.

On Friday, It was detected the attack had greater consequences than originally understood and the attackers had hacked information concerning individual seeking legal aid, forcing it to shut down its online services.

The agency said the group potentially accessed sensitive information of applicants, including national ID numbers, addresses, financial data, dates of birth and such as contribution amounts, debts, and payments. Jane Harbottle, the chief executive officer of the Legal Aid Agency said “Since the discovery of the attack, my team has been working around the clock with the National Cyber Security Centre to bolster the security of our systems so we can safely continue the vital work of the agency. However, it has become clear that to safeguard the service and its users, we needed to take radical action. That is why we’ve taken the decision to take the online service down.”

READ: Israel allows limited aid into Gaza after pressure over starvation fears

Jane Harbottle added the agency, an integral part of the Ministry of Justice, had prepared for contingencies in place, and those in need of legal support could still receive assistance they needed. British retailers Marks and Spencer and Co-op were the main reason (target) of cyber attacks in April, with cyber criminals impersonating employees while contacting the retailers’ IT help desks, as per the IT expert platform BleepingComputer.

M&S, which had temporary stopped online purchases, stated earlier this month that some personal information of the customers was affected by the hacking incident, where cyber criminals hacked into the database of the company, demand payment for decryption before allowing them to regain access.

READ: Ghana to host 2025 ADEA Education conferences in October