Capita insists no data was compromised in a cyber incident that left the outsourcing giant’s staff unable to access IT systems
- London-based Capita admitted that an IT issue had affected some customer services
- The London-listed company said its staff can now access Office 365 services
- According to The Times, employees were told not to use virtual private networks
Capita has said none of its data was compromised in a cybersecurity incident last week that prevented many employees from logging into the company’s IT systems.
The outsourcing company has admitted that an IT issue affected some customer services and disrupted access to its internal Microsoft Office 365 applications.
Employees were told not to use virtual private networks or attempt to reset their passwords, according to the Times, which initially reported the episode last Friday.
Technical Issues: The outsourcing company admitted that an IT issue affected some customer services and disrupted access to its internal Microsoft Office 365 applications
Municipalities, including Barnet, Barking & Dagenham and Lambeth in London, with whom Capita has contracts, all posted messages on their websites warning that council tax, benefits and business rates call center phone lines were out of order.
Capita reported Monday that security was “rapidly aware” of the problem and that “immediate steps were taken to successfully isolate and contain the problem.”
The London-listed company said its staff now have access to Office 365 services, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and is making “good progress” in restoring other client services.
It did not confirm whether the event was a cyber-attack or identify affected customers, but said there was “no evidence that customer, supplier or colleague data had been compromised.”
In addition to municipalities and the National Health Service, Capita contracts with government organizations such as the National Cyber Security Center, whose parent branch is GCHQ.
It also provides services on behalf of the Cabinet Office, HM Revenue & Customs, the Ministry of Justice, numerous police forces, and administers the London Congestion Charge Scheme.
In addition to government agencies, the company operates call centers for car manufacturer BMW, bookmaker William Hill, Thames Water, telecom group O2 and the RSPCA.
In its full-year results released early last month, the outsourcer revealed that pre-tax profits fell 79 per cent to £61.4 million due to a large impairment charge in its portfolio division and the loss of income from its various divestments.
Led by Jon Lewis, who arrived in 2017, Capita sold large parts of the company to reduce debt, focus on core activities and transform the company into a hi-tech company.
Companies sold by Capita in 2022 included payment transaction company Pay360 Limited, two real estate and infrastructure consulting firms, and IT services provider Trustmarque
Capital shares were 1.3 percent higher Monday morning at 37.1 pence, meaning their value is up about three-quarters over the past 12 months.