OMAGH BOMB VICTIMS DOCUMENTS HACKED
OMAGH BOMB VICTIMS' DOCUMENTS HACKED
BY RYAN McALEER
r.mcaleer@ulsterherald.com
A LONDON based legal firm has claimed to have been targeted by hackers after hundreds of pages of confidential information relating to victims of the Omagh bomb were made available online.
The documents which were understood to have been accessible via a Google search last week include lengthy confidential psychological reports of victims as well as references to senior Garda witnesses, some who are due to give evidence against two of the men alleged to have been involved in the Omagh bomb. Other documents are believed to contain lists of the names and addresses of victims.
Human rights law firm H20 have represented a number of the Omagh bomb families for several years. However the firm is currently undergoing a three way split between partners, with lawyer Jason McCue and his new firm McCue and Partners taking over the Omagh civil case.
Both McCue and Partners and H20 claim that it is another firm created by the split, Twenty Twenty Law, who have been targeted by hackers.
A special unit within the London Metropolitan Police set up to investigate hacking is understood to be investigating the allegations.
A statement from H20 Law said they were aware of the reports about hacking of archived computer data relating to Omagh clients held on the computer system of Twenty Twenty Law last Thursday (March 15).
"The police have been informed and are investigating the matter. Our best information at the moment is that the IT system was not targeted specifically but was the subject of a random attack," read a statement from the firm.
Speaking yesterday as he was preparing to board a plane to Madrid to unveil a new stained glass memory of Fernando Blasco Baselga and Rocio Abad Ramos, both killed in the August 1998 atrocity, Michael Gallagher of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group said there was concern among members of the group over what had been accessed and by whom. "We are watching the developments. We want to know what the quantity of the material was, how long it was on the net and who during that period accessed it."
Made aware of the breach last Thursday, Mr Gallagher said he immediately contacted the solicitor firm in London. "They suspect the material was hacked," he said. "The solicitors did move very quickly to contact Google and get the stuff pulled down as quick as it could. There was relief that things moved very quickly".
Mr Gallagher said the breach was now subject to a police investigation.
A spokesperson for McCue and Partners told the Ulster Herald, "No material or documentation of any kind held by McCue and Partners has been exposed, published to the Internet or made publicly available. All client's material being held by us is secure and is not the subject of any hacking or the source of any leak of documentation.
"The third party source of the leak was the victim of illegal hacking. The police were notified and are investigating the matter and we will assist in any way we can to help bring the culprit to justice".
Twenty Twenty Law were not available for comment at the time of going to press.
BY RYAN McALEER
r.mcaleer@ulsterherald.com
A LONDON based legal firm has claimed to have been targeted by hackers after hundreds of pages of confidential information relating to victims of the Omagh bomb were made available online.
The documents which were understood to have been accessible via a Google search last week include lengthy confidential psychological reports of victims as well as references to senior Garda witnesses, some who are due to give evidence against two of the men alleged to have been involved in the Omagh bomb. Other documents are believed to contain lists of the names and addresses of victims.
Human rights law firm H20 have represented a number of the Omagh bomb families for several years. However the firm is currently undergoing a three way split between partners, with lawyer Jason McCue and his new firm McCue and Partners taking over the Omagh civil case.
Both McCue and Partners and H20 claim that it is another firm created by the split, Twenty Twenty Law, who have been targeted by hackers.
A special unit within the London Metropolitan Police set up to investigate hacking is understood to be investigating the allegations.
A statement from H20 Law said they were aware of the reports about hacking of archived computer data relating to Omagh clients held on the computer system of Twenty Twenty Law last Thursday (March 15).
"The police have been informed and are investigating the matter. Our best information at the moment is that the IT system was not targeted specifically but was the subject of a random attack," read a statement from the firm.
Speaking yesterday as he was preparing to board a plane to Madrid to unveil a new stained glass memory of Fernando Blasco Baselga and Rocio Abad Ramos, both killed in the August 1998 atrocity, Michael Gallagher of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group said there was concern among members of the group over what had been accessed and by whom. "We are watching the developments. We want to know what the quantity of the material was, how long it was on the net and who during that period accessed it."
Made aware of the breach last Thursday, Mr Gallagher said he immediately contacted the solicitor firm in London. "They suspect the material was hacked," he said. "The solicitors did move very quickly to contact Google and get the stuff pulled down as quick as it could. There was relief that things moved very quickly".
Mr Gallagher said the breach was now subject to a police investigation.
A spokesperson for McCue and Partners told the Ulster Herald, "No material or documentation of any kind held by McCue and Partners has been exposed, published to the Internet or made publicly available. All client's material being held by us is secure and is not the subject of any hacking or the source of any leak of documentation.
"The third party source of the leak was the victim of illegal hacking. The police were notified and are investigating the matter and we will assist in any way we can to help bring the culprit to justice".
Twenty Twenty Law were not available for comment at the time of going to press.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/2043
Published Date: 22-Mar-12
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.