Law firms are still the firm favourites and proverbial jewel in the crown for cyber criminals. It appears, in the latest cyber report that hackers for hire, named ‘Dark Basin’ by researchers, have set their sights on the legal industry.
The group is said to have used the notoriously common and most successful cyber crime tool, phishing to dupe those in the legal sector to reveal personal details.
The University of Toronto completed a study which has revealed that the group have targeted thousands of individuals and organisations across six continents.
The report states:
“Lawyers were heavily represented in the Dark Basin targeting.
“We found targeted individuals in many major US and global law firms. Lawyers working on corporate litigation and financial services were disproportionately represented, with targets in many countries including the US, UK, Israel, France, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Kenya and Nigeria”
Hackers for hire can be extremely useful for some people and organisations. Although the report by the University of Toronto revealed that Dark Basin had infact conducted commercial espionage on behalf of clients against opponents involved in high profile public events.
But their work didn’t stop there. They also worked on criminal cases, financial transactions, news stories and advocacy in an attempt to throw doubt on prosecutions.
Have you seen an increase in phishing emails since the lockdown?
