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NLJ this week: Cyberspecial—crypto thieves & Tulip opportunities

07 July 2023
Issue: 8032 / Categories: Legal News , Cyber , Technology , Cybercrime , Legal services
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Law firms are a prime target for cybercriminals, but the rapidly developing world of cryptocurrency is a prime opportunity for lawyers. This week’s NLJ serves up a double helping of articles on the sharp edge of tech development.

Alex Bransome, chief information security officer at IT services company Doherty Associates, sets out the five main cybersecurity threats to the UK legal sector, along with advice on how to construct a robust defence to each.

Bransome explains the threats and defences in accessible language. The necessity of vigilance against cybercrime cannot be overstated. Likewise, top level security and safeguards are vital to maintain client confidence.

Bransome points out, ‘as cyber threats continue to evolve, legal firms with robust defences will stand out from the competition’.

Meanwhile, a recent Court of Appeal case has suggested software developers could be held accountable in cryptocurrency hacking cases. Lauren Pardoe, partner in Rosling King’s dispute resolution group, looks at the questions raised by Tulip Trading (a Seychelles company) v Van Der Laan & Ors. The case explored whether the developers of cryptocurrency networks, working on behalf of bitcoin owners, are accountable as fiduciaries if networks are hacked.

The English and Welsh courts’ openness to considering how legal principles can be applied and even extended is a subject of huge interest for the crypto sector. As Pardoe writes, ‘cryptocurrency is a new and fast-developing area, in which there has to date been little in the way of judicial intervention, and in which there is little regulation’.

Read Alex Bransome's article here, and Lauren Pardoe's here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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