The number of successful cyber-attacks against British law firms rose by 77% in the past year to 954, according to a new study of the threat reported by the Law Society Gazette of England and Wales.

Chartered accountants Lubbock Fine said that the wave was driven by criminals seeing law firms as prime targets for ransomware attacks or blackmail.

This is due to the sensitive personal and financial information they hold, which hackers can sell on the dark web or threaten to publish on the internet.

Earlier this month, a global survey revealed that ransomware attackers have been paid off at least eight times in recent years.

‘Attractive target’

“The data that law firms hold on behalf of their clients is often highly sensitive – and, therefore, valuable if you intend to blackmail a law firm,” said Lubbock Fine partner Mark Turner.

“This makes them a very attractive target. Hackers will often demand a blackmail payment from law firms or threaten to post that sensitive data on the internet.”

Turner added that, in the face of such attacks, law firms needed stronger cyber-defences than most businesses.

“This might include segregating data across different departments, teams, and individual clients,” he said.

The Gazette says that figures from Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre show that nearly three-quarters of Britain’s top 100 law firms have been affected by cyber-attacks.