More than a million people who applied for legal aid may be at risk of fraud after hackers stole data from claims going back 15 years in a major cyber attack.
The Ministry of Justice conceded on Sunday that a devastating cyber attack last month was far worse than initially assessed after hackers revealed they had stolen millions of pieces of sensitive information.
Court cases across the country will be affected after hackers forced the main system for managing legal aid offline in the attack.
Lawyers have blamed the 'antiquated' IT system used by the Legal Aid Agency as it emerged that more than a million people could be at risk of fraud or extortion, including claimants and their lawyers who have submitted applications since 2010.
The stolen data includes contact details and addresses of legal aid applicants, their dates of birth, national insurance numbers, criminal records, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments.
