DLA Piper was hit this afternoon by a huge ransomware attack. We've been told that it's similar to the attack which recently targetted the NHS and that all networks are down in Europe and the Americas. A source says that they've been asked to cough up an unspecified amount of bitcoin in order to be given control of their systems.

Phones and email are currently down. But a spokeswoman told us via her mobile that "the firm, like many other reported companies, has experienced issues with some of its systems due to suspected Malware. We are taking steps to remedy the issue as quickly as possible."


Businesses across the world are currently being hit, including (according to the BBC) Maersk and Rosneft.

Read more on Friday.