Go-Ahead, one of the UK’s biggest transport companies, has said it is dealing with an ongoing cyber attack that has affected software used to schedule drivers and bus services.
The company, a major UK bus service provider and London’s largest operator, said it became aware of a failure on its server on Sunday afternoon and was working hard to keep buses running. uninterrupted operation.
The problems became widespread on Monday, affecting several office systems, including bus services and payroll software.
Go-Ahead said it was working with IBM to activate backup systems to ensure its bus services can continue to operate. The cyber attack does not affect its rail business, which operates on separate systems and operates as normal in the UK and abroad.
A spokesperson said: “We are doing everything we can to ensure that services continue without disruption, but if services are affected we will inform our customers via social media.”
Go-Ahead manages Great Northern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Southern rail and also operates rail services in Norway and Germany. It provides nearly a quarter of London’s buses, as well as bus services in the south and east of England, and also has bus contracts in Singapore, Sweden and Ireland.
The company has reported the attack to regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK.
In June, Go-Ahead accepted a £650m takeover bid from a consortium of Australian bus operator Kinetic and infrastructure specialist Globalvia. It is the latest British transport company to become a takeover target, along with Stagecoach and FirstGroup. The deal is expected to be completed in October if shareholders agree to the terms.
Cyber attacks on governments, businesses and other organizations have multiplied in recent years. Doctors have been forced to take notes with pen and paper after a recent cyber attack on an NHS provider, software and services provider Advanced.
Two years ago, easyJet admitted that the personal information of 9 million customers was accessed in a “highly sophisticated” cyber attack on the airline, one of the biggest to hit any UK company.
British Airways was told in July 2019 that it faced a £183m fine after hackers stole the personal information of half a million customers. In the same month, hotel group Marriott was warned it could be fined £99.2m over a breach that exposed the data of 339m customers worldwide. The actual fines awarded the following year were £20m and £18.4m respectively. Banks and telecommunications companies have also been hacked in recent years.
This article was amended on 6 September 2022. An earlier version stated that British Airways and Marriott were fined £183m and £99.2m respectively in 2019. These were proposed amounts; the actual fines handed down by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2020 were £20m and £18.4m.