Cybercriminals have developed an insidious way of victimizing law firms—holding their valuable data for ransom. It is no secret to cybercriminals, hacktivists and nation states that many law firms are far behind the curve in cybersecurity. Due to their often-substantial cyber-vulnerabilities and the high value of the sensitive and confidential client data they possess, law firms are high-value targets.
In the past, cybercriminals operated like thieves in the night—remotely hacking into unsuspecting law firms and stealthily exfiltrating data. Today, these cybercriminals have found a direct method of exploiting law firms for profit—holding data for ransom. Here, the perpetrators do not have to spend the time and effort to sell stolen information on the Dark Web; the cyberthieves can directly extort money from the victim using sophisticated malicious software known as ransomware.
