Personal data taken in UK legal aid cyber attack
LONDON :A "significant" amount of personal data, including criminal records, of applicants who had applied for legal aid since 2010 was accessed and stolen in a cyber attack, Britain's Legal Aid Agency said on Monday.
It said it became aware of the attack on April 23 and had worked with the National Crime Agency since.
On Friday, it discovered the attack had been more extensive than originally understood and the attackers had accessed information relating to legal aid applicants, forcing it to shut down its online services.
The agency said the group may have accessed applicants' personal information including addresses, dates of birth, national ID numbers, and financial data such as contributions amounts, debts and payments.
"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," said Jane Harbottle, chief executive officer of the Legal Aid 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."
Harbottle added the agency, which is part of the Ministry of Justice, had contingency plans in place and those in need of legal support could continue to access help.
British retailers Marks and Spencer and Co-op were the target of cyber attacks in April, with hackers impersonating employees while contacting the retailers' IT help desks, according to technology specialist site BleepingComputer.
M&S, which had suspended online orders, said earlier this month that some personal customer information was taken in the ransomware attack, where criminals infiltrate companies' computer systems, encrypt them and demand payment before allowing them to resume control.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
UK's National Crime Agency asked to investigate grooming gang cases, World News
LONDON — The British government said on Sunday (June 15) it would ask the policing agency that investigates serious and organised crime to help track down more people suspected of being involved in grooming gangs that sexually abused thousands of girls. The scandal, in which gangs of mostly Pakistani men groomed and raped young white girls more than a decade ago, returned to the political agenda this year after US billionaire Elon Musk criticised the British government. Under pressure to act, the government said on Sunday that the National Crime Agency would be asked to find more people who have escaped prosecution, building on the work of the police who have reopened over 800 historic cases. "The vulnerable young girls, who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men, have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice," Yvette Cooper, Britain's interior minister, said in a statement. "Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now." A new report by Louise Casey, a member of Britain's upper house of parliament, into the scale and nature of the abuse is expected to be published on Monday, a government official said. After months of resistance, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said over the weekend that he wanted a new national enquiry into the grooming gangs. A 2014 enquiry found at least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual exploitation in Rotherham, northern England, between 1997 and 2013. That report said the majority of known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage and that in some cases local officials and other agencies had been wary of identifying ethnic origins for fear of upsetting community cohesion, or being seen as racist. [[nid:718514]]
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
UK's National Crime Agency asked to investigate grooming gang cases
FILE PHOTO: A sign is seen outside the National Crime Agency (NCA) headquarters in London October 7, 2013. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo LONDON - The British government said on Sunday it would ask the policing agency that investigates serious and organised crime to help track down more people suspected of being involved in grooming gangs that sexually abused thousands of girls. The scandal, in which gangs of mostly Pakistani men groomed and raped young white girls more than a decade ago, returned to the political agenda this year after U.S. billionaire Elon Musk criticised the British government. Under pressure to act, the government said on Sunday that the National Crime Agency would be asked to find more people who have escaped prosecution, building on the work of the police who have reopened over 800 historic cases. "The vulnerable young girls, who suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of groups of adult men, have now grown into brave women who are rightly demanding justice," Yvette Cooper, Britain's interior minister, said in a statement. "Not enough people listened to them then. That was wrong and unforgivable. We are changing that now." A new report by Louise Casey, a member of Britain's upper house of parliament, into the scale and nature of the abuse is expected to be published on Monday, a government official said. After months of resistance, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said over the weekend that he wanted a new national inquiry into the grooming gangs. A 2014 inquiry found at least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual exploitation in Rotherham, northern England, between 1997 and 2013. That report said the majority of known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage and that in some cases local officials and other agencies had been wary of identifying ethnic origins for fear of upsetting community cohesion, or being seen as racist. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Second black box recovered from Air India crash site, official says
A police officer stands in front of the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad, India. PHOTO: REUTERS Second black box recovered from Air India crash site, official says AHMEDABAD, India - Investigators in India on June 15 recovered the second black box from the London-bound Air India Boeing 787 that crashed in the city of Ahmedabad, killing at least 279 people, authorities announced. The cockpit voice recorder has been found, Mr PK Mishra, a senior aide to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said in a statement. The flight data recorder was recovered on June 13, one day after the crash. Only one passenger survived among the 242 travellers and crew on board the Air India jet when it crashed June 12 into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground. 'The AAIB has launched a detailed investigation, and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting a parallel probe under international protocols since the aircraft is American-made,' Mr Mishra said in a statement. 'Officials confirmed that the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) have been located and secured.' Multiple experts have said it is too soon to say why the jet crashed shortly after takeoff. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
