Injunctive Relief Against Persons Unknown – The Ransomware Edition

On 11 July 2023, the English High Court handed down its decision on the claimant's application in Armstrong Watson LLP v. Persons Unknown, granting judgment in default and final injunctive relief. Specifically, the court granted the claimant permanent injunctive relief against persons unknown – a group of unidentified hackers – for purposes of restraining the use and disclosure of confidential information that had been acquired by the hackers via a ransomware attack and to require deletion or delivery up of that information. The central issues addressed by the court were:

• Whether the claimant could proceed with its application on paper without a hearing, pursuant to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).