The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it is working with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to investigate a data breach.
Sky News has reported that a letter was sent to law firms last week, where the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) said it had identified a “security incident”.
The organisation, which provides legal aid in civil and criminal cases in England and Wales, said “it is possible that financial information relating to legal aid providers may have been accessed by a third party”.
The LAA said it could not confirm “what, if any, information was accessed”, but said it was “possible that payment information may have been accessed”.
MOJ, NCA and NCSC investigating breach
There are nearly 2,000 solicitors’ firms, barristers, not-for-profit organisations and telephone operators that are contracted to deliver legal aid services in England and Wales, according to government data.
The LAA, which is an executive agency, sponsored by the MoJ, is responsible for administering legal aid funding, which was around £2.3 billion in 2023/24.
“This incident is being investigated in accordance with our data security processes, and action has been taken to mitigate the incident,” the letter said. “I would like to offer our sincere apologies for any concern this may cause you.
“The LAA takes the security of the information we hold seriously, and we understand the potential impact any breach can have on you.”
If you liked this content…
Russian cybercriminals behind NHS hospitals critical incident
The rising risk of insider threats to the public sector in the AI-era 
Cyber threat to UK government “severe and advancing quickly”
Ministers consider ban on ransomware payments for UK public bodies
Cybercriminals hope to catch public sector off-guard
An MoJ spokesperson said: “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 National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre to investigate the situation, and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
A National Crime Agency spokesperson said: “We are aware of a cyber incident affecting the Legal Aid Agency.
“NCA officers are working alongside partners in the National Cyber Security Centre and MoJ to better understand the incident and support the department.”
‘Stop seeing cyber as a grudge purchase’
Jonathan Lee, cyber strategy director at cybersecurity firm Trend Micro said the cyberattack is “of great concern.”
“Organisations in the legal sector, public and private alike, are a prime target for cyber criminals because of the valuable personal data they hold. Combined with details about cases and legal proceedings, cyber criminals have a powerful means to extort members of the public with threats to publish their data online if payment demands aren’t made. This is very damaging for the individual and significantly limits the trust they place in the breached organisation – especially in the legal sector, where client confidentiality and trust are paramount.”
Lee said the said public and private sector leaders must move beyond seeing cyber “as a grudge purchase”, and “to treat it as the necessary cost of running a resilient operation that it is” with the Government’s Spending Review in sight.
