According to a report in BBC Tech https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr5g4pv2l0o, and confirmed by the Ministry of Justice, its systems were compromised. Data affected may include names, addresses, dates of birth, national ID numbers, criminal history, employment and financial data such as debts and payments.
Hardly a week goes by without the revelation of another major cybersecurity incident, so what can we do? From the ICO and NCSC guidance, it seems that we ought to consider two areas for action: prevent and prepare.
Prevent – Do as much as we can to prevent ourselves or our systems becoming victims. The National Cyber Security Centre (“NCSC”) has much helpful and free guidance and training, and a good starting point might be https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/advice-guidance/small-medium-sized-organisations.
Prepare – Be ready for if and when a cybersecurity incident impacts you. Again the NCSC and ICO websites have much helpful advice, and we would encourage you to make sure your data breach policies are up to date. If you need help with this, just get in touch.
And with all things IT related, always work with your IT provider before making any changes, as they know your systems best.