A significant amount of personal data, including classified criminal records, has been stolen from an online legal aid system in the UK. About this it is said in the statement of the Ministry of Justice of Great Britain dated May 19.
The document states that the cyber attack on the online services of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) became known on April 23, 2025. The database that was hacked contained data dating back to 2010. Later it became clear that the consequences of the incident were “larger than initially thought.” The agency’s chief executive, Jane Garbottle, apologized to those affected and acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, saying the news was “shocking and sad for people”.
The group behind the attack claims to have accessed 2.1 million pieces of data. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice did not confirm this figure. The agency urged citizens who sought legal assistance during this period to take measures to protect their personal data.
“This data could include applicants’ contact information and addresses, their dates of birth, national identity card numbers, criminal records, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments,” – says the message.
Citizens were also advised to be especially careful about suspicious messages, calls or attempts to access personal information, and to change passwords that may have been compromised. The agency became the next victim of a wave of cyberattacks that paralyzed a number of institutions. Earlier in May, department store Harrods announced that it had “restricted access to the Internet on its sites” after an attempted intrusion into its systems.
