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Irish legal practice pays ransom to internet pirates

A small practice had an unnerving and costly experience last week when its database was hacked by internet pirates through the use of malware.

Still waiting for a full IT report on how the breach actually occurred, the principal  of the practice is now ruefully counting the cost of the attack but willing to tell the story as a warning to other practices, big and small.

The ransom demand by the hackers amounted to one Bitcoin, currently valued at €6,500.

Having consulted experts, the lead solicitor made the difficult decision to pay the ransom in full in order to secure the safety of client files, which were restored instantly upon payment.

The solicitor acted on advice not to negotiate through third party intermediaries but to pay the hackers upfront.

The solicitor was engaged in other legal business outside the office when the data breach occurred. All files were instantly locked down and made inaccessible by the internet pirates and the practice struggled to carry out its daily work.

Client confidentiality

With a bit of ingenuity some daily tasks were completed but it was important to resolve the issue quickly with client confidentiality a key factor.

On day two of the data breach, the ransom was paid over.

“Somebody made money out of this,” commented the solicitor.

Terrified

“I was terrified that client confidentiality would be compromised and that is why I paid the ransom.

“These people are very, very good at what they do. It’s just a shame that talent is not being used in more productive ways,” the solicitor said.

For advice on how to make your practice more secure against data hacks, go to https://www.lawsociety.ie/Solicitors/Running-a-Practice/Cybersecurity/Cyber-alerts/make-clients-aware-you-will-never-send-account-details-by-email/ - .W8DCrxNKg_U