“It’s no wonder so many top-tier law firms, blue-chip companies and government agencies trust us with their highly sensitive and confidential information,” an extract from its About Us page read.
In a statement to The Australian Financial Review, Law In Order confirmed the attack and said it had taken defensive steps to limit access to its network which had subsequently “halted much of our business operations”.
The statement said the company had engaged cyber security advisers CyberCX, who were working to respond to the attack, and Law In Order was proactively advising customers who may have been impacted.
“Over the weekend, Law In Order was the victim of a cyber security incident,” the statement said. “We are undertaking a thorough forensic investigation to understand the scope and details of the incident.
“We are assessing reports that a very small proportion of data on Law In Orders servers has been exfiltrated and proactively advising customers who may be impacted.
“We are making progress, however it is important that we do this methodically and safely as we work to resume normal business operations.”
Law In Order did not respond to questions about whether the company was considering paying the ransom.
Brett Callow, a threat analyst for Emsisoft, said the NetWalker ransomware-as-a-service operation specifically targeted larger organisations.
“Like multiple other ransomware operations, NetWalker steals its victims data and uses the threat of releasing it online as additional leverage to extort payment,” Mr Callow said.
“Ransomware continues to become increasingly problematic. The average demand has increased from about $US5000 ($6835) in 2018 to more than $US150,000 today.
“Additionally, the fact data is stolen means that incidents are very often data breaches which can result in sensitive information leaking online and, of course, expose organisations to legal liability issues.”
Emsisoft estimates that ransomware will cost the Australian economy about $US160 million in 2020 in terms of ransom demands.
“When downtime is factored in, the cost increases to more than $US1 billion and thats an extremely conservative estimate,” Mr Callow said.
