HWL Ebsworth has been granted a permanent injunction to prevent the use of data stolen from the firm in a cyberattack last year, as it was revealed the firm has been unable to itemise the documents lost to the hack due to its massive scale.

In a judgment handed down on Monday, NSW Supreme Court Justice Michael Slattery found the firm “has a responsibility to protect client confidences” as the owner of a significant amount of commercial and personal data.