Police cybercrime squad investigate scathing Slater + Gordon email
An all-staff email which sent shockwaves through top law firm Slater and Gordon is being examined by police as the firm’s chief people officer accused of sending it claims she has been wrongly accused.
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An all-staff email which sent shockwaves through top law firm Slater and Gordon is being examined by police.
Victoria Police has confirmed its cybercrime squad is responding to a report of unauthorised access in relation to the explosive email, sent to employees of the Victorian-based legal firm.
“Inquiries are under way to determine the circumstances and impact of the incident. As the investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time,” a statement from the force said.
It is a criminal offence in Victoria to access someone’s address on a computer without authorisation or consent.
Slater + Gordon’s interim chief people officer Mari Ruiz-Matthyssen has stated publicly she will take legal action after being accused of sending the damaging and embarrassing email.
The message contained confidential salary data and damning assessments of key executives.
Ms Ruiz-Matthyssen broke her silence on Monday, saying a “cursory examination” of the rogue email indicated the sender’s “likely identity” and she was in the process of commencing legal action against an unspecified party.
“Since Friday morning, I have been wrongfully accused of sending a highly inappropriate email to Slater + Gordon staff and publicly vilified since that time,” she said in a statement through her lawyer.
“The manner in which this matter has been handled over the past four days has caused immeasurable damage and distress to me personally and professionally, as well as to my family.
“I did not send the email. A cursory examination of the email and its attachment gave a clear indication as to the likely identity of the sender.
“I have engaged lawyers and I am in the process of taking legal action.”
The statement was issued on Monday afternoon, marking the first time Ms Ruiz-Matthyssen has publicly commented on the crisis which began after the email was blind copied to Slater + Gordon staff on Friday morning.
The missive was sent from a personal email address claiming to be Ms Ruiz-Matthyssen and laced with disparaging remarks about staff.
It included a dot-pointed “rundown” of employees, labelling some individuals as “lazy”, “useless” and “bit of a gossip”.
A spreadsheet was also attached containing sensitive salary data for more than 900 staff.
On Friday afternoon, the law firm issued a statement saying Ms Ruiz-Matthyssen did not author the email and much of its content, including salary information, was inaccurate.
“The contents of the email include a range of disparaging remarks about individuals – what is presented as internal information in the email is incorrect and in many ways a work of fiction,” a spokesperson said.
But a former employee, whose information was on the spreadsheet, told the Australian Financial Review their salary was accurate.
Two emergency meetings have been held since Friday, with staff told the firm was investigating if the email was sent by one or more former employees or a combination of current and former staff, the AFR reported.
The Herald Sun understands the email has caused significant stress among staff and sparked concerns that someone is impersonating a senior manager.
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