Recently, Royal mail have been hit with a catastrophic Cyber Attack.
This has caused the postal service to be unable to offer international export services from many Post Office Branches. Currently, this service has been unavailable for the last week and Royal Mail has not provided a date that they intend for this to be resolved.
The source of this Cyber Attack has not been announced yet, however experts believe that it has come from a ransomware gang called LockBit.
This attack is causing disruption for business across the country, as they are currently still unable to send parcels abroad using Royal Mail and there is no indication of when this will be resolved. This has caused many businesses to be unable to operate to their full capacity and also to lose business to competitors who are able to send their goods abroad.
Other Cyber Criminals are using the disruption as an opportunity for social engineering attacks. Royal Mail has warned customers that there is an increase in phishing attempts imitating them as a result of the attack.
These attacks are most commonly delivered through Smishing, a form of phishing that relies on SMS messages. However, it has also been reported that social media is being used.
This is an unsurprising response to the incident, as the disruption will create opportunity to exploit widespread frustration and confusion. An increase in phishing attacks is a common response to Cyber Attacks that require a national response, such as the one being faced by Royal Mail currently.
To stay Cyber Wise and to maintain the best practices you should always ensure that your devices are kept up to date, use antimalware software where possible and remember to remain vigilant to social engineering attempts.
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