High street retailer WH Smith has announced that it has been targeted in a cyber attack, with hackers accessing company data including information on current and former employees. Despite this, the company has confirmed that its trading activities have not been impacted, and that its website, customer accounts and databases remain unaffected on separate systems.
WH Smith has launched an investigation into the incident, and has engaged specialist support services, as well as notifying the relevant authorities. Measures have also been put in place to support affected colleagues.
This announcement follows a recent wave of cyber attacks, including a hack that caused lengthy disruption to Royal Mail’s international postal service, and a breach in which around 10 million people may have had their addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses stolen from retailer JD Sports. WH Smith has stressed that it takes the issue of cyber security extremely seriously and that investigations into the incident are ongoing.