‘Data breach’ at offshore law firm sparks fears of private information leaks

The firm has admitted that there was “a data security incident last year which involved some of our data being compromised”.

According to The Telegraph, a “global consortium of left-leaning media organisations” is planning to publish leaked data in the next few days in what some fear will be a repeat of the Panama Papers scandal.

A spokesperson for Appleby told the newspaper: “Appleby operates in highly regulated jurisdictions and like all professional organisations in our regions, we are subject to frequent regulatory checks and we are committed to achieving the high standards set by our regulators. We are also committed to the highest standards of client service and confidentiality. It is what we stand for. This commitment is unequivocal.

“Appleby has thoroughly and vigorously investigated the allegations and we are satisfied that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing, either on the part of ourselves or our clients. We refute any allegations which may suggest otherwise and we would be happy to cooperate fully with any legitimate and authorised investigation of the allegations by the appropriate and relevant authorities.

“We are committed to protecting our clients’ data and we have reviewed our cyber security and data access arrangements following a data security incident last year which involved some of our data being compromised. These arrangements were reviewed and tested by a leading IT forensics team and we are confident that our data integrity is secure.”