The start to Summer 2016 has seen a sizeable increase in recorded attacks on legal firms in Ireland, as reported by RTE news on 5th June 2016. Over a dozen firms have recently suffered ransomware attacks.
Why is the legal sector a prime target?
The legal sector is a prime target for cyber criminals on one side due to the sensitivity and volume of private client data held on their computer systems and secondly, because of the large sums of money held by solicitors in their client accounts on a daily basis.
What are common ways for ransomware attacks to take place?
Computer systems can be compromised by ransomware attacks either through email or a web browser. A user might open what to them looked like an innocuous email, which once opened immediately encrypts files across their entire network. The message (which can be remarkably polite), then warns that immediate payment is required by a given deadline, or the files will be destroyed. Victims will often see a timer ratchet as well, whereby any delays to settlement increase the sum demanded. The warning is stark and often along the lines of: “Any attempt to damage or remove this software will lead to the immediate destruction of the private key to your server.”
What kind of sums are involved in ransomware attacks?
Sums can range from a few hundred to many thousands of £pounds. In this particular spate of attacks, the Irish legal firms had had ransom demands of between 5,000 – 30,000 Euros from the criminals to unlock their computers.
One solicitor wishing to stay anonymous commented: “The accounts system was in jeopardy, which we would be accountable for a closing balance of E4-5m every day to clients. Trying to identify 2,500 clients whose money was actually in the account to the very cent was never going to be achievable going forwards”.
The general advice is for all organisations would be:
• To regularly review your data security policies and procedures (and ensure they are up to date and fit for purpose reflecting the current threat landscape).
• To regularly back up your data to mitigate any losses
• To act expediently and deal with the issue
• To deploy up to date antivirus software
• Have effective web filtering
• To utilise up to date firewalls
• To educate staff to heighten everyone’s awareness about cyber security – what different attacks look like – and importantly what their process and actions should be should they receive something they believe to be a cyber threat.
This news comes on the heels of the annual risk management survey by Legal Business and Marsh which found that “IT security breach / data management accident or breach” was the highest risk to law firms in terms of damage it could cause and the likelihood of it occurring.
For regulated industries especially, the demand for effective and contemporary security systems and knowledgeable management teams will serve as a significant reassurance to their customers. Amicus ITS provides specific Security as a Services offerings to protect against cyber attack. These include ‘Foxcatcher’ and ‘Amicus Viper’. Anyone wishing to discuss any cyber security issues in confidence can ring the security team on 02380 429429.
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