[BreachExchange] Australia's law firms prime targets for cyber attacks: Law Council

[Audrey McNeil]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14/law-firms-prime-
target-for-cyber-attacks/8117598

Sensitive information held by Australia's law firms is a prime target for
cyber attacks, and small law firms and barristers need great protection,
according to the Law Council of Australia.

The council is today launching its new information campaign, Cyber
Precedent, alongside the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber
Security Dan Tehan.

Law Council president Stuart Clark said a number of Australian firms have
been attacked, and a key concern is the growing use of ransomware.

"That is cases where a law firm is infected or a computer is infected by a
piece of ransomware, and then the lawyer or other business gets a message
from the cybercriminal asking them to pay a ransom to unlock their data,"
he said.

"We know that the large Australian law firms are doing a lot of work to
protect themselves.

"Our real concerns are for the smaller and mid-sized firms, for barristers
and sole practitioners."

The breadth of sensitive data held by law firms and vulnerable to cyber
attacks is significant.

"They hold information about clients, personal information," Mr Clark said.

"Commercial lawyers hold information in relation to mergers, acquisition,
takeovers, all of which would be very market-sensitive.

"Commercial lawyers working on big resource projects or international
transactions hold information which we know is from time to time the
subject of attempts by foreign state actors to access."

The Federal Government has been forced to confront the realities of
cybersecurity after a number of high profile attacks hit government assets
in recent months, with a report calling on ministers and public servants to
attend a "cyber bootcamp".

The 2016 online census was shut down for 40 hours after repeated attacks
blocked access to the website, which led to a multi-million-dollar
confidential settlement with software provider IBM.

Last year, the Bureau of Meteorology was targeted by a foreign power, which
managed to install malicious software to steal sensitive documents and
compromise other government networks.
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