Legal Aid Agency Data Breach: Personal Info Stolen
Hey, so guess what? Britain's Legal Aid Agency just had a huge problem. Apparently, a ton of personal info for folks who applied for legal help since way back in 2010 got swiped in a cyber attack. Like, seriously significant amounts of data, even criminal records. Can you believe that? They just found out about it on April 23rd and have been working with the National Crime Agency since then.
But hold on, things got even worse. Last Friday, they realized the attack was way bigger than they thought at first. The bad guys actually got into the information of people who applied for legal aid. That's why they had to shut down their online stuff completely.
The agency thinks the group might have grabbed things like people's addresses, birthdays, national ID numbers, and even financial details like how much money they contributed, debts, and payments. Yikes!
Jane Harbottle, the boss of the Legal Aid Agency, said her team has been working non stop with the National Cyber Security Centre to make their systems safer. She said, "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." But she also said it became super clear they needed to do something drastic to protect the service and the people using it. That's why they decided to just take the online service down.
Jane added that the agency, which is part of the Ministry of Justice, has backup plans, so if you need legal support, you can still find help.
Oh, and get this, it seems like other places in Britain have been hit too. Marks and Spencer and Co-op were also targeted in April. Hackers apparently pretended to be employees and tricked the IT help desks. M&S even had to stop online orders for a bit because some customer info was taken in a ransomware attack. That's when criminals get into computer systems, lock them up, and demand money to give you back control.
It just makes you wonder, you know? With all these hacks happening, how can we really keep our personal info safe online? Maybe you've got some tips? Or maybe you've even used something like Fiverr to find a freelance cybersecurity expert to help you out? Idk, it's just a thought. It seems like everyone needs to be extra careful these days, tbh.
