UK water supplier Southern Water has confirmed that it suffered a data breach after the Black Basta ransomware group appeared to leak customer data held by the firm.
The utilities company, which serves around 4.6 million customers across Southern England, admitted in a post on January 23, 2024, that “a limited amount of data has been published.”
“We are aware of a claim by cybercriminals that data has been stolen from some of our IT systems. We had previously detected suspicious activity, and had launched an investigation, led by independent cybersecurity specialists,” the notice read.
The company emphasized that its usual services have not been impacted by the incident.
Black Basta had earlier claimed to have successfully attacked Southern Water, and published a small sample of the data it allegedly stole on its Tor leak site.
This information included:
- Scans of identity documents such as passports and driving licenses
- Documents that appear to be HR-related, displaying the personal data of what could be customers, including home address, office address, dates of birth, nationalities, and email addresses
- Corporate car-leasing documents exposing personal data
Black Basta has threatened to release the rest of the data it claims to hold by February 29 unless its ransom demand is paid.
Southern Water Continues to Investigate the Breach
Southern stated in its post that it has informed the UK government and relevant regulators, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about the incident.
It is continuing its investigation, in line with guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
“If, through the investigation, we establish that customers' or employees' data has been stolen, we will ensure they are notified, in accordance with our obligations,” the firm wrote.
In a response to a question about the breach on Southern Water’s X (formerly Twitter) account, a spokesperson for Southern wrote that there was no evidence that the firm’s customer relationships or financial systems have been affected.
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