Russian hackers launched a widespread cyber attack, compromising the confidential banking and contact details of UK employees across a multitude of companies. The targeted server belonged to Zellis, a major payroll provider utilized by a plethora of firms, including high-profile entities such as British Airways, BBC, and Boots among others.
Zellis manages the payroll needs for hundreds of UK companies, making this hack a cause for serious concern. Its server stored sensitive banking and personal information of citizens working across numerous businesses. Notable clients who were hit by the attack include British Airways, owned by IAG, Boots, which is a part of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, BBC, NHS, and Jaguar Land Rover.
British Airways employs approximately 34,000 staff in the UK, while Boots has around 50,000 employees, highlighting the potential scale of the cyber attack.
The alleged Russian cybercriminals leveraged a security flaw in the $2.6 billion file transfer system MOVEit, produced by American company Progress Software. This permitted the hackers to access employees’ contact details, national insurance numbers, and bank account details.
In a statement, Zellis revealed: “A large number of companies around the world have been affected by a zero-day vulnerability in Progress Software’s MOVEit Transfer product. We can confirm that a small number of our customers have been impacted by this global issue, and we are actively working to support them.”
The firm added that none of its other software was compromised and that there were no linked breaches in other parts of its IT infrastructure. “Once we became aware of this incident, we took immediate action, disconnecting the server that utilises MOVEit software and engaging an expert external security incident response team to assist with forensic analysis and ongoing monitoring,” Zellis said.
The incident spotlights the mounting concern of data breaches and cybercrimes, with multinational corporations and common citizens alike becoming targets. In response to the breach, British Airways, Boots, and the BBC have taken immediate steps to notify the affected employees and are coordinating closely with Zellis as the investigation continues.
“Zellis provides payroll support services to hundreds of companies in the UK, of which we are one,” said a source at British Airways. The spokesperson continued, “This incident happened because of a new and previously unknown vulnerability in a widely used MOVEit file transfer tool. We have notified those colleagues whose personal information has been compromised to provide support and advice.”
In response to the data breach, Boots issued a statement saying, “A global data vulnerability, which affected a third-party software used by one of our payroll providers, included some of our team members’ personal details.” Assured of Zellis’s immediate response, Boots has made its team members aware of the situation.
BBC also acknowledged the breach, stating, “We are aware of a data breach at our third-party supplier, Zellis, and are working closely with them as they urgently investigate the extent of the breach. We take data security extremely seriously and are following the established reporting procedures.”
As investigations continue, and companies endeavor to reinforce their cybersecurity protocols, the breach underscores the need for constant vigilance and proactive measures in an increasingly digital and connected global landscape.
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