MoJ issues warning to those hit by legal aid cyberattack

Millions of pieces of personal data, including criminal records, have been stolen from legal aid applicants in a massive cyberattack.

- ALEXANDER BUTLER

The data, including national insurance numbers, employment status and financial data, was breached earlier this year, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The hackers claimed they had stolen 2.1 million pieces of data from people who had applied for legal aid since 2010 but the MoJ only said a “significant amount of personal data” had been breached.

An MoJ source said the vulnerabilities in the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) systems have been known for many 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 government became aware of a cyberattack on the LAA’s online digital services on 23 April, but realised on Friday that it was more extensive than originally thought.