Britain's Justice Department said Monday that it closed online services for legal aid recipients and the lawyers paid to help them following a cyber attack, which it said 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 realized 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," said Jane Harbottle, chief executive of Legal Aid. "We needed to take radical action to safeguard the service and its users. That is why we’ve decided to take the online service down."
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 worked with the agency since the intrusion.
Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said he 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."
