(Reuters) — Mercenary hackers are increasingly targeting law firms in a bid to steal data that could tip the balance in legal cases, French and British authorities say, echoing a Reuters investigation that uncovered the phenomenon last year.
In a pair of reports published over the past week, cyber watchdog agencies in France and the UK cataloged a range of digital challenges facing law firms, including threats from ransomware and malicious insiders. Both also highlighted the dangers posed by mercenary hackers hired by litigants to archive sensitive information from courtroom opponents.
The London-based National Cyber Security Center said in its report published on June 22 that it is increasingly seeing “hackers-for-hire”
; brought in “to gain the upper hand in business dealings or legal disputes.”France’s cyber watchdog, known as ANSSI, said in its report released on Tuesday that “mercenaries with offensive cyber capabilities” were increasingly targeting the legal sector. ANSSI cited Reuters as reporting last year on how mercenary hackers based out of India were drafted in to help influence high-profile cases in the US, Europe and elsewhere.
Source link
