WH Smith Suffers Major Data Breach

Recently surfaced that British retailer, WH Smith, has suffered a data breach that exposed information belonging to current and former employees. It operates 1,700 locations across the United Kingdom and employs over 12,500 people, reporting a revenue of $1.67 billion in 2022. Know the details in the following lines.

Read: The U.S. Marshals Service Investigates Ransomware Attack

The cyberattack stole several data about employees

“WH Smith PLC has been the target of a cyber security incident which has resulted in illegal access to some company data, including current and former employee data,” reads the company’s cybersecurity notice filed with London’s Stock Exchange.

WH Smith made a clear statement that they take their investigation seriously. They said: “upon becoming aware of the incident, we immediately launched an investigation, engaged specialist support services, and implemented our incident response plans, which included notifying the relevant authorities.”

The affected employees have been informed of the breach and guided on how to protect themselves from identity theft following the attack. The company has confirmed that the attack did not influence its trading business or affect customer data, as it is stored on segregated systems which remained safe from any breaches.

The notification sent to London’s Stock Exchange reveals that the company has suffered a cyberattack though the nature of it remains undisclosed. It is, however, suspected to be a ransomware attack. The attack could be around January 18, when the company made the last trading activity announcement, but according to BBC reports, the cyberattack occurred at the beginning of this week.

This attack serves as a stark reminder for companies of all sizes regarding the importance of cybersecurity measures when storing data online. Companies must follow best practices regarding cybercrime prevention if they want to protect their system from malicious actors or unwanted exposure.

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