Capita is embroiled in a new data breach incident, with its client Colchester Council accusing the contractor of “unsafe storage of personal data”.
Colchester council said it expressed “extreme disappointment with Capita” following revelations of a “serious data breach”.
The council said it was taking “swift and decisive action”, adding that it understood the incident had affected several other local authorities across the country.
Capita provides services to a number of local authorities including Colchester, Barking and Dagenham and Barnet. Data belonging to schools in Sheffield has been leaked following the Capita hack in March.
The latest revelation comes as the effect of the March cyberattack continues to be felt. Capita wrote to his pension trustee clients last week that his investigation into the hack is “unfortunately taking longer than expected.”
“Analysis remains a complex and labor-intensive exercise, and as a result, this places a risk on expected timelines,” Capita said, adding that he was “hesitant to offer a fixed date to which we expect the analysis to be complete” but targeted “on or about” May 27.
Among Capita’s pension scheme clients, USS – the UK’s largest private sector pension scheme – earlier this month warned that the personal data of around half a million members may have been stolen in the cyberattack.
Capita also provides a range of services to central government departments, including the Ministry of Defence. The contractor administers recruitment for the army as well as training for the Royal Navy and Defense Fire and Rescue Services.
A government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the cyber incident which affected Capita and are in regular contact with the company. The issue was primarily internal processes with minimal impact on government services. »
However, the MoD has stepped up protection and monitoring of its connections to Capita, according to a person familiar with the matter.
During a parliamentary debate last week, Jeremy Quin said the Cabinet Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Center were working with Capita to understand the risks to government data as a result of the hack.
A Capita spokesperson said the company was “working with our third-party technical advisers to investigate” the latest disclosure of a data breach involving Colchester Council, adding that historical data was “secure and more accessible”. The outsourcer declined to comment on its internal investigation of pension plan customer data.
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