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Cybercrime: avoiding the unthinkable

03 March 2023 / Kingsley Hayes
Issue: 8015 / Categories: Features , Profession , Cybercrime , Criminal , Cyber , Technology , Risk management
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With cyberattacks presenting a growing threat to UK businesses, Kingsley Hayes offers practical advice to help law firms avoid falling victim to online criminals
  • Looks at the wider privacy implications of the ransomware attack at The Guardian in December 2022.
  • Considers similar phishing attacks where personal data has been seized by criminals.
  • Argues companies targeted by cybercriminals have a responsibility to safeguard staff and discourage complacency regarding these attacks.

Hackers struck the Guardian Media Group on 20 December 2022. The cyberattack caused serious disruption to the media outlet’s business operations and involved the theft of a large quantity of personal data.

Go phish

The cyberattack on The Guardian involved phishing. A ‘phishing’ attack can be initiated where, for example, a hacker sends an email or text message to an employee of an organisation. This may include an innocent-looking website link or invitation for the recipient to open an attachment. Once the link is clicked, or the attachment opened, however, malicious software, such as

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NEWS
Legal advice to people detained in police stations could be delivered by video link, Sir Brian Leveson has said, in part two of his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has urged the government to move towards a less adversarial system of clinical negligence, after the total cost to the NHS quadrupled within 20 years to an eye-watering £60bn
Peers have warned impending legislation could put executors at financial risk when their loved ones die
Legal IT supplier InfoTrack has launched a conveyancing tool that speeds up the pre-contract enquiries stage by allowing both sides to collaborate in one shared workspace
Barristers met with 19 of their local MPs at ten Crown Courts in all six circuits last week, as part of a Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association initiative to defend juries and explain the factors behind the backlog of nearly 80,000 cases
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