Two prominent US law firms Greenberg Traurig, Eckert Seamans disclose data breaches

Greenberg Traurig and Eckert Seamans have each disclosed data security breaches exposing sensitive client information, marking the latest in a series of incidents underscoring mounting cyber threats to the legal sector.

Greenberg Traurig, founded in Miami and home to more than 3,200 lawyers, told Reuters in a statement Thursday that an unauthorized actor gained access to a limited number of documents and subsequently posted them on the dark web. The firm said it has alerted a small number of affected clients and maintained that its firm systems were not compromised or breached, allowing operations to continue without disruption. In a notice filed with the Vermont attorney general this week, the firm said the exposed material included Social Security information.

Eckert Seamans, based in Pittsburgh and staffed by hundreds of lawyers, faces a different set of consequences following its own breach disclosure last week. Two proposed class actions were filed against the firm Wednesday in federal court in New York. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the litigation.

Court filings in the Eckert Seamans cases state that the firm notified affected individuals that an attorney there had been targeted in a social engineering attack in August, resulting in unauthorized access to a limited set of files. The firm identified dates of birth and Social Security numbers as among the data exposed. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs wrote in one filing that clients’ private information had been private before the breach and was no longer. The suits do not specify whether the two plaintiffs, residents of Ohio and Tennessee, were clients of the firm, and a lawyer representing them did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Social engineering attacks, which rely on manipulating individuals into disclosing sensitive information or granting access to secure systems, have made law firms holding large volumes of confidential business and personal data an attractive target for cybercriminals.

Two additional major firms, Quinn Emanuel and McDermott Will & Schulte, recently disclosed breaches tied to social engineering tactics. McDermott described its incident as isolated, involving a single user and a limited number of documents, while Quinn Emanuel said a limited number of client documents were affected and that impacted parties had been notified.

At least three other firms, including Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Goodwin Procter, reported data breaches to U.S. state regulators last month. WilmerHale was named in a proposed class action filed in July in Washington over a breach affecting the firm and has retained Hogan Lovells Cadwalader to represent it in that litigation.