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The Capita Group, who are a contractor for local authorities has taken further steps to ensure security of IT infrastructure.
The outsourcing firm & Govt. contractor has revealed it will endure costs of up to £20m from a recent cyber-attack in which some customer, supplier & staff data was accessed by hackers.
The group, revealed that investigations into the incident suggested that some data was accessed but that this was from less than 0.1% of its server estate.
Extensive Steps
It explained it had taken “extensive steps” to recover & secure the data within the affected servers, & to “remediate any issues arising from the incident”.
They expected the costs resulting from the cyber-attack will reach between £15m-£20m, covering specialist professional fees, recovery & remediation costs, & also investment to improve its cyber-security defences & strengthen its IT security.
Capita stated it was “working closely with all appropriate regulatory authorities & with customers, suppliers & colleagues to notify those affected & take any remaining necessary steps to address the incident”.
Safety & Security
It further added: “Capita has also taken further steps to ensure the integrity, safety & security of its IT infrastructure to underpin its ongoing client service commitments.”
They admitted in April that hackers had accessed its systems for almost 10 days before the issue was found. The pensions regulator has reportedly asked 100s of pension funds that use Capita as an administrator to assess whether their client data may be put at risk.
Dark Web
It is thought that information containing Capita data was on the ‘dark web’ following the March breach, & reports indicate that this included home addresses & passport images.
Capita’s systems are used to run pensions for circa 450 organisations, including The Royal Mail & Axa, which cover millions of policyholders.
Not Confirm
The company would not confirm what data was ‘potentially accessed’ in the attack or how many staff, suppliers & customers were involved.
This attack is the newest in a recent increase in cyber incidents, with the retailer WH Smith suffering its 2nd hack in less than a year in March & The Royal Mail’s international postal service undergoing lengthy disruption after hackers targeted them.
