UK’s Royal Mail admits cyber incident affecting overseas post

Royal Mail, a UK-based multinational postal and courier service, has recently revealed suffering from a cyber incident that caused severe operational disruption, specifically to international transactions. Customers are asked to stop sending parcels and letters to overseas receivers temporarily.

Due to the cyber incident, all the arrival of international transactions of parcels may be delayed, although the courier firm affirmed that their operations are still ongoing. Moreover, Royal Mail said the incident had not affected their domestic post.

Cybersecurity experts and relevant authorities were contacted to aid with the investigation. However, the courier firm did not disclose the cyber incident’s nature and scope to the public but said to give updates once they are available.

 

The attack on Royal Mail could be the work of the LockBit ransomware gang.

 

According to separate reports, the Royal Mail cyberattack incident is allegedly linked to a ransomware attack, resulting in severe operational disruption. Although, the courier firm did not reveal whether a threat group was involved in the incident, as they have yet to release a follow-up statement and additional details.

Furthermore, with ransomware being the alleged cause of the incident, security researchers suspect it could be the notorious LockBit gang behind it.

LockBit is a Russian-based ransomware group that purportedly sent Royal Mail a ransom note, forcing them to pay a massive amount in exchange for keeping their stolen data safe from being leaked or sold in underground marketplaces. LockBit, on the other hand, claims that their group is not in any way politically motivated and is only after the monetary gain.

The company apologised to all affected customers, highlighting that they are toiling around the clock to mitigate the situation quickly. Upon learning of the cyber incident, Royal Mail’s security team immediately launched an investigation to identify the source of the issue.

Customers are also requested to temporarily halt sending parcels to overseas recipients as it could hinder their mitigation progress. Parcels already in transit to international destinations before the incident are expected to have a minor delay in their arrival.