Henry Vaughan reports:
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it is working with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre to investigate the data breach.
In a letter sent to law firms last week, which has been seen by Sky News, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) warned it had identified a “security incident”.
The organisation, which provides legal aid in civil and criminal cases in England and Wales, said “it is possible that financial information relating to legal aid providers may have been accessed by a third party”.
The LAA said it could not confirm “what, if any, information was accessed”, but said it was “possible that payment information may have been accessed”.
There are nearly 2,000 providers, including solicitors’ firms, barristers, not-for-profit organisations and telephone operators, contracted to deliver legal aid services in England and Wales, according to government data.
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