Clare Foges 6pm - 9pm
British Airways, BBC and Boots staff hit in major payroll cyber attack 'linked to Russia'
5 June 2023, 14:33 | Updated: 5 June 2023, 15:14
Tens of thousands of British Airways and BBC staff may have had their personal details stolen following a suspected Russia-linked cyber attack.
Payroll provider Zellis confirmed on Monday that eight of its clients had been affected.
BA warned staff of a ‘cyber security incident,’ adding that personal information about colleagues may have been compromised.
A spokesman for the airline said: "We have been informed that we are one of the companies impacted by Zellis' cybersecurity incident which occurred via one of their third-party suppliers called MOVEit.
Listen and subscribe to Unprecedented: Inside Downing Street on Global Player
"Zellis provides payroll support services to hundreds of companies in the UK, of which we are one. This incident happened because of a new and previously unknown vulnerability in a widely used MOVEit file transfer tool.
"We have notified those colleagues whose personal information has been compromised to provide support and advice."
The information is believed to include names, addresses, national insurance numbers, and banking details.
A BBC spokesman confirmed they were also affected by the hack.
The BBC told staff: “The breach has been reported to the Information Commissioners Office and appears to be a significant global technical issue.”
The Telegraph reported the attack was linked to a Russian-speaking cyber crime gang known as Clop.