Legal support hack: knowledge from loads of 1000’s of other folks accessed, says MoJ

The non-public knowledge of loads of 1000’s of felony support candidates in England and Wales courting again to 2010, together with felony information and monetary main points, has been accessed and downloaded in a “significant” cyber-attack.

Officials admit that the information will have integrated touch main points and addresses of candidates, their dates of start, nationwide ID numbers, felony historical past, employment standing and monetary knowledge similar to contribution quantities, money owed and bills.

Hackers have claimed that they accessed 2.1m items of information, a determine that has up to now been unverified.

It is known that government don’t imagine that the hack is the paintings of a state actor, and that apparently to be the paintings of a felony gang.

A Ministry of Justice supply put the breach all the way down to the “neglect and mismanagement” of the former govt, pronouncing vulnerabilities within the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) programs were identified for a few years.

“This data breach was made possible by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last government. They knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but did not act,” the supply mentioned.

The MoJ mentioned officers changed into conscious about a cyber-attack at the LAA’s on-line virtual services and products on 23 April however believed it had accessed knowledge from felony support suppliers similar to solicitors’ corporations, no longer from candidates. It is known that officers found out on Friday that it was once a lot wider and concerned candidates.

The LAA’s on-line virtual services and products, which can be utilized by felony support suppliers to log their paintings and receives a commission by way of the federal government, were taken offline. Legal support suppliers will likely be given telephone numbers or electronic mail addresses to touch as they search fee for the following few weeks.

Officials are making an attempt to construct an upgraded gadget over the following few weeks that may exchange the hacked gadget.

The MoJ mentioned: “We believe the group has accessed and downloaded a significant amount of personal data from those who applied for legal aid through our digital service since 2010.

“This data may have included contact details and addresses of applicants, their dates of birth, national ID numbers, criminal history, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments.

“We would urge all members of the public who have applied for legal aid in this time period to take steps to safeguard themselves. We would recommend you are alert for any suspicious activity such as unknown messages or phone calls and to be extra vigilant to update any potentially exposed passwords.

“If you are in doubt about anyone you are communicating with online or over the phone, you should verify their identity independently before providing any information to them.”

The MoJ has been operating with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre, and has knowledgeable the tips commissioner.

A National Crime Agency spokesperson mentioned it was once conscious about the incident.

The LAA’s leader government, Jane Harbottle, apologised for the breach: “I understand this news will be shocking and upsetting for people and I am extremely sorry this has happened.

“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,” she mentioned.

Harbottle mentioned contingency plans have been in position to ensure the ones wanting felony give a boost to and recommendation may just proceed to get right of entry to it.

In 2023, the Law Society, the pro frame for solicitors in England and Wales, referred to as at the govt to put money into the LAA virtual gadget, pronouncing the gadget was once “too fragile to cope”. As not too long ago as March 2024, the Law Society pointed to the “antiquated IT systems” of the LAA as “evidence of the long-term neglect of our justice system”.

Richard Atkinson, the Law Society’s president, mentioned: “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.

“If it is now also proving vulnerable to cyber-attack, further delay is untenable.

“Legal aid firms are small businesses providing an important public service and are operating on the margins of financial viability. Given that vulnerability, these financial security concerns are the last thing they need.”