Ghislaine Maxwell's personal emails have been hacked, and damaging information, including the names of individuals linked to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case, are at risk of being publicly released.

The revelation was made in a letter filed by the British socialite's lawyers in the defamation case brought against her by Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Guiffre, DailyMail.com has learned.

The letter was sent by Maxwell's attorney, Ty Gee, on December 5 to New York federal court Judge Loretta A. Preska but made public last week. The letter addresses the materials that should remain sealed or redacted in the case.

It notes 'the difficulty and complexity' of the process as there are more than 8,600 pages, adding that it is 'difficult-to-overstate importance to the lives of Ms. Maxwell and the non-parties'.

Gee's letter says that the project 'could not be accomplished by scanning or speed-reading' as each page had to be carefully analysed to redact, for example, 'a surname or an email address'.

He refers to details that were released in error in the 2,000 pages that were made public in August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Those filings revealed allegations that Maxwell procured underage girls for Epstein. She has denied those charges.

The revelation that Ghislaine Maxwell's emails were hacked was made in a letter filed by the British socialite's lawyers in the defamation case brought against her by Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Guiffre (center)

Maxwell, who apparently staged an image of herself after being in hiding had her email address publicly revealed when documents relating to the billionaire pedophile's case was made public in August

Maxwell, pictured in 1995 with Epstein, was accused of arranging underage girls to have sex with the pedophile - an allegation she denies

'Despite the Second Circuit's best efforts, it made serious mistakes. For example, it redacted a non-party's name in one location but not another; so the media immediately gained access to that name,' Gee wrote.

'As another example, it redacted Ms. Maxwell's email address (which linked to her own domain name) in one location but not another; shortly afterward hackers breached the host computer.'

Jeff Pagliuca, a colleague of Gee also representing Maxwell, did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment on whether her emails had been stolen.

The hack may have implications for Prince Andrew after it was revealed in December that the Duke of York exchanged emails with Maxwell in 2015 about Giuffre.

In that email, revealed on Panorama, Maxwell and the British royal discussed Giuffre – despite denials from Prince Andrew that he had never met the then-teenager and that a photo of them together was a fake.

'Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts,' Prince Andrew wrote in an email to Maxwell.

She replied: 'Have some info – call me when you have a moment.'

Giuffre alleges she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times at Epstein's home. She said the billionaire pedophile trafficked her while she was underage, and abused her over the course of years.

Prince Andrew has denied the claims.

Prince Andrew exchanged emails with Maxwell in 2015 after this image of him with his arm around Virginia Guiffre surfaced. The pair discussed Guiffre – despite denials from Prince Andrew that he had never met the then-teenager and that a photo of them together was a fake

In a disastrous interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, the Duke of York claimed he does not remember meeting Roberts. He said he was at a Pizza Express in Woking, Surrey, celebrating his daughter's birthday on the same night he is accused of going to Tramp nightclub with the then-teenager.

The documents currently being debated by the legal teams are part of Giuffre's 2015 defamation suit against Maxwell.

Maxwell publicly denounced Giuffre as a liar, leading her to file a civil lawsuit.

The email security breach means that 58-yearold Maxwell's emails could be sold or leaked to the public and potentially reveal more details about individuals connected to Epstein.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Maxwell used a secret mail server, and not a major service like Google, which can keep emails out of the hands of authorities, but which increased the risk of them being hacked.

Maxwell was Epstein's connection to high society, introducing him to powerful and wealthy friends in Hollywood, finance and royalty.

Epstein, 66, hanged himself in his New York jail cell on August 10, 2019 while facing charges of child sex trafficking.

Giuffre alleges she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times at Epstein's Manhattan home. Prince Andrew has denied the claims, including in a disastrous interview with BBC's Newsnight last year

Prince Andrew was seen waving off a woman at the door of Epstein's mansion in the Upper East Side in 2010

Jeffrey Epstein's mansion (pictured) was raided after his arrest in July - two months before he hanged himself in a jail cell. FBI uncovered a 'vast trove' of hundreds or even thousands of lewd photographs of young women or girls

The financier previously received an 18-month prison sentence in Florida in 2008 on charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution. Despite the conviction, Prince Andrew continued to associate with Epstein and was pictured staying with him at his mansion in Manhattan in 2010.

Last week, attorneys for Maxwell and Giuffre appeared in court to hash out a time frame for the unsealing of more documents in the case which include depositions from more than two dozen people, including a number of new witnesses and potentially Epstein.

Those are expected to be released on a 'rolling basis' in the coming weeks. Those who are named in the documents, described as 'non-parties' to the case, will be notified in two weeks and they will get a two-week period to file an objection.

Another Maxwell attorney who was in court, Laura Menninger, described the 'non-parties' as 'in positions of means with (legal) counsel' while others 'live out of the country or in remote places… without counsel'.

In Ty Gee's letter, the attorney also points out the intense media interest in the case, which he defines as everything from 'established newspapers and broadcast media' to 'every person who owns a computer, tablet or smart phone who distributes information to others'.

Maxwell (pictured with Epstein in 2005) retreated from public life several years ago and had been living quietly in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts at the home of tech CEO, Scott Borgerson. Her current whereabouts are unknown

The letter also complains that Epstein's alleged victims, including Giuffre, their lawyers and PRs 'are actively stoking media interest for their own ends'.

By comparison, Gee writes that Maxwell has not sought out media attention and has therefore gained more media attention.

Maxwell retreated from public life several years ago and had been living quietly in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts at the home of tech CEO, Scott Borgerson, DailyMail.com revealed in August.

Her current whereabouts are unknown with Giuffre's attorneys admitting at court last week that they have no idea where she is.

Maxwell and others are being investigated by the FBI as part of the Epstein case, Reuters reported in December, citing law enforcement sources.

'There is no doubt that every word, phrase, sentence and paragraph of any document disclosed to the public will be scrutinized by members of the media with as much diligence as we have - with the exception that they have no time limit and, depending on the media member, with an economy of ethics,' the defense attorney writes.

He goes on to request that prior to the unsealing of any new documents, Maxwell's attorneys and the non-parties to the case be notified to allow them to conduct a second review and object if necessary.