Capita, an outsourcing corporation and government contractor, has claimed that a latest cyberattack in which hackers gained access to customer, supplier, and employee data may have cost them up to £20 million.
According to the business, which is a significant contractor for local governments, investigations into the incident revealed that some data was accessed, but only from less than 0.1% of its server estate.
It stated that it has taken “extensive steps” to retrieve and safeguard the data on the impacted server estate, as well as “remediate any issues arising from the incident.”
It anticipates the cost of the cyberattack to be between £15 million and £20 million, which will comprise specialized professional fees, recovery and remediation charges, and investment to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses and IT resources.
Capita said it was “working closely with all appropriate regulatory authorities and with customers, suppliers and colleagues to notify those affected and take any remaining necessary steps to address the incident”.
It added: “Capita has also taken further steps to ensure the integrity, safety and security of its IT infrastructure to underpin its ongoing client service commitments.”
The outsourcer confessed last month that hackers had accessed its system for nearly 10 days before the breach was detected.The pension regulator has requested that hundreds of pension funds that employ Capita as an administrator evaluate if their client information may be at risk.
It is believed that details containing Capita data were being distributed on the dark web after the breach in March, with reports claiming that this included home addresses and passport photographs.
Capita’s systems are used to share pensions for about 450 organizations, including Royal Mail and Axa, encompassing millions of policyholders.
The company refused to verify what data was possibly accessed in the attack or how many employees, suppliers, and customers were affected.
The attack is the latest in a string of cyber-attacks that has seen high-street store WH Smith suffer its second intrusion in just under a year in March and Royal Mail’s worldwide postal service suffer extended interruption when hackers attacked the business.
- Published By Team Timeswire