UK’s South Staffs Water hit by cyber attack

UK water company South Staffs Water has confirmed it was hit by a cyber attack.

A ransomware group claimed it was possible to tamper with water supplies in an online post, but this was disputed by South Staffs Water.

According to South Staffordshire PLC, the parent company of South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water, its ability to supply water was not affected. While the water supplier has confirmed it was experiencing disruption to its corporate IT network, it was still supplying safe water to Cambridge Water and South Staffs Water customers.

According to the BBC, cyber security experts note that the attack set a "worrying precedent".

Additional "precautionary" measures have been put in place and the water company has been working closely with the government while it investigated the hack.

Ransomware attacks involve criminals breaking into a network and stealing or blocking access to important files until a ransom payment is made.

To "explain how it broke into the network" and prevent the release of internal documents, the group demanded payment from South Staffordshire PLC, however, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre advises firms not to pay ransomware demands.

The drought made water companies a target for cyber criminals, according to cyber security experts and urged companies to be on guard.

In an interview with the BBC, Jamie Akhtar of CyberSmart believes this incident "sets a worrying precedent" even though the attack appears to have been relatively benign.