Southern Water has apologized to a number of customers on the Isle of Wight after a data breach saw details including National Insurance numbers, dates of birth, sort codes and bank account numbers stolen.
Over the past few days, I’ve been receiving letters and emails explaining what happened and what to do next.
On January 22, an organization on the dark web, an area of the internet used by criminals, claimed to have obtained data from power companies.
The company issued a warning on February 13th and apologized.
In recent communications, the agency said it had previously detected suspicious activity.
An investigation has now been launched in collaboration with the National Cyber Security Center, along with other precautionary measures.
According to the water supplier, water supply was not affected.
Southern Water told the Isle of Wight County Newspaper it did not know how many customers on the island were affected.
The company said it is focused on contacting 5-10% of affected customers.
To help Islanders monitor potential suspicious activity, we assured customers that links to Experian Identity Plus provided in recent letters and emails are safe to use.
If you activate your membership within two months of receiving the communication, you will receive 12 months of Experian coverage free of charge.
Southern Water said it was continuing to monitor the situation and urged customers with any questions to contact them on 0330 303 0025.
Earlier this month, Southern Water said: “Based on our ongoing forensic investigation, we expect to notify approximately 5-10 per cent of our customer base that their personal data has been affected.”
“We have also notified all of our current and some former employees.
“We take data protection and information security very seriously and, in accordance with our regulatory obligations, will contact anyone whose personal data may be at risk.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) also confirmed it had received a report about the incident and was investigating.
