The federal government company answerable for overseeing billions of kilos price of authorized funding has been hit by a cyber safety incident.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) mentioned it’s working with the Nationwide Crime Company and Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre to analyze the information breach.
The organisation, which gives authorized support in civil and felony instances in England and Wales, mentioned “it is possible that financial information relating to legal aid providers may have been accessed by a third party”.
The LAA mentioned it couldn’t verify “what, if any, information was accessed”, however mentioned it was “possible that payment information may have been accessed”.
There are practically 2,000 suppliers, together with solicitors’ corporations, barristers, not-for-profit organisations and phone operators, contracted to ship authorized support providers in England and Wales, based on authorities knowledge.
The LAA, which is an government company, sponsored by the MoJ, is answerable for administering authorized support funding, which was round £2.3bn in 2023/24.
Legislation corporations are a lovely goal for cyber assaults as a result of they maintain delicate consumer data and deal with massive sums of cash.
“This incident is being investigated in accordance with our data security processes, and action has been taken to mitigate the incident,” the letter mentioned.
“I would like to offer our sincere apologies for any concern this may cause you.
“The LAA takes the safety of the data we maintain severely, and we perceive the potential influence any breach can have on you.”
The general public physique’s head workplace is in London nevertheless it has others in cities and cities throughout England and Wales and employs round 1,250 employees.
An MoJ spokesperson mentioned: “We take any data breach extremely seriously and have already taken action to bolster the security of the legal aid system.
“We’re working with the Nationwide Crime Company and Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre to analyze the scenario, and it could be inappropriate to remark additional at this stage.”
A Nationwide Crime Company spokesperson mentioned: “We are aware of a cyber incident affecting the Legal Aid Agency.
“NCA officers are working alongside companions within the Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre and MoJ to higher perceive the incident and help the division.”
It comes after retailers Co-op, Harrods and Marks & Spencer had been hit by cyber assaults, though there is no such thing as a suggestion that there’s any connection to the incident involving the LAA.
