Important Notification

On January 13, 2026, we had to announce that HARTE-BAVENDAMM Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB had become the target of a cyberattack on January 6, 2026.

Since then, we have commissioned comprehensive forensic investigations by external cybersecurity experts in order to better determine the scope of the attack and to implement appropriate measures to protect your data and our firm.

As part of these investigations, it was determined on February 3, 2026, that an unauthorized third party gained access to the firm’s network on January 6, 2026, and was apparently able to obtain copies of data from certain systems of the firm.

At present, we do not yet have precise information regarding the scope, nature, or content of the data that may have been taken. Affected clients will be informed without delay as soon as relevant information becomes available.

According to the findings of the security authorities, a criminal organization from North
Korea has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. This group is considered one of the most active cybercriminal organizations and is currently carrying out an increased number of
targeted attacks on law firms and other companies.

We take our responsibility toward our clients very seriously. Upon discovering the incident, we immediately took steps to secure our data and systems, engaged external specialists, informed the relevant law enforcement authorities, and implemented additional security measures to further strengthen the protection of our law firm and client data.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the investigations. In the meantime, we remain available at any time to answer your questions. In this case, please primarily contact Dr. Arne Lambrecht at a.lambrecht@harte-bavendamm.de.

HARTE-BAVENDAMM Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB was targeted by a ransomware attack on January 7, 2026. As a result, our company data was temporarily encrypted.

We immediately initiated all necessary measures and promptly rebuilt our IT infrastructure. With the support of our IT team, we were able to restore all data within 24 hours in a secure IT environment, allowing normal business operations to resume the following day.

Our website www.harte-bavendamm.de, our telephone system and our email server were not affected by the attack.

The protection of your data is our highest priority. At present, we have no indications that the targeted attack on our servers has resulted in an increased risk of malware being transmitted via files or emails originating from our network. At this time, there is also no confirmed evidence of data exfiltration. Investigations into this matter are ongoing. We will provide transparent updates as soon as new, verified findings become available.

In addition to the usual due-diligence measures when receiving data and emails, we recommend being particularly vigilant regarding anything that appears unusual. If necessary, please inform your IT department and ensure that suspicious emails are handled appropriately. Further information and recommended actions regarding data security can be found on the websites of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

We are currently working intensively and in close coordination with the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) and cybersecurity specialists to analyze the incident. The Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Hamburg has also been informed of the incident.

The complete investigation of the situation will take some time. Over the past days, this has placed significant demands on our personnel, technical, and organizational resources. We thank you for your understanding should there have been any delays in communication or in the processing of inquiries as a result.

We regret the inconvenience caused by this attack and apologize for these. Thank you very much for your understanding.

Contact for further inquiries:

Dr. Arne Lambrecht, E-Mail: a.lambrecht@harte-bavendamm.de