Hackers strike UK's legal aid agency, compromise data of lawyers, clients

Britain's justice department on Monday said that it shut down online services for legal aid recipients and the lawyers paid to help them after a cyberattack compromised personal information, including criminal records, national insurance numbers and payment details.

The Ministry of Justice said it learned on April 23 that online digital services at the Legal Aid Agency had been hacked, but realised on Friday that it was more extensive than it had known.

“I understand this news will be shocking and upsetting for people and I am extremely sorry this has happened. 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," said Jane Harbottle, chief executive of Legal Aid.

Hackers claimed they had access to 2.1 million pieces of data, though the government did not confirm that figure.

The agency provides civil and criminal legal assistance to those who can't afford a lawyer. The online system is used by providers to log work to get paid.

A “significant amount of personal data” going back 15 years was exposed by the breach, including addresses of people applying for legal help, birth dates, criminal history, employment status and financial information, the ministry said.

The National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre have been working with the agency since the intrusion.

Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said they had drawn attention to the need to update the agency's antiquated information technology.

“The fragility of the IT system has prevented vital reforms, including updates to the means test that could help millions more access legal aid, and interim payments for firms whose cash flow is being decimated by the backlogs in the courts, through no fault of their own,” Atkinson said. “If it is now also proving vulnerable to cyber-attack, further delay is untenable."