Southern Water customer data was taken in ransomware attack

UK utility Southern Water has confirmed that the personal data of a number of its customers was stolen by the ransomware gang that attacked its systems in January 2024.

“This attack against Southern Water demonstrated how vulnerable critical national infrastructure is to hacking today.”

The cyber attack on Southern Water was claimed by the Black Basta Crew, which posted details of the incident to its dark web leak site on 22 January, giving the utility until 29 February to respond.

Whether or not Southern Water has engaged with its attacker remains unknown, the organisation said it had now found that data from a “limited part” of its server estate had been stolen.

Ryan McConechy, Barrier’s Chief Technology Officer, shares his thoughts on the attack with Computer Weekly.