UK Legal Aid Agency investigates cybersecurity incident

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA), an executive agency of the UK's Ministry of Justice that oversees billions in legal funding, warned law firms of a security incident and said the attackers might have accessed financial information. Approximately 2,000 providers, including barristers, solicitor firms, and non-profit organizations, deliver civil and criminal legal aid services in England and Wales under contracts with the LAA. The agency employs around 1,250 staff and runs the country's Public Defender Service. In a letter sent to law firms, the agency said it cannot confirm if any data was accessed. Still, it acknowledged the risk that legal aid providers' payment information might have been compromised, as Sky News first reported. "This incident is being investigated in accordance with our data security processes, and action has been taken to mitigate the incident," the agency's letter reads. "The LAA takes the security of the information we hold seriously, and we understand the potentia ... Read full article.