The personal details of staff at a major Norfolk poultry producer have been stolen in a suspected ransomware attack.

Banham Poultry, based in Attleborough, said criminals had remotely accessed its IT system in a cyber attack in the early hours of August 18.

The company, which employs about 600 people, said staff were being provided with advice, credit monitoring and fraud detection following the security breach.

An email sent to staff said information including National Insurance numbers, copies of passports and bank details had been accessed, the BBC reported.

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The company said it immediately shut down its systems and "engaged external forensic specialists".

"We are not aware of anyone's information being used maliciously, or of any individual suffering any detriment as a result of the incident," the company email to staff said.

"If, in the unlikely event, the data is published on the 'dark web' it is extremely difficult to access.

"We consider that the risk of any financial fraud being suffered by you is very low, although we cannot eliminate the possibility entirely."

 

 

The company said it had reported the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Details of the attack are believed to have been posted on internet forums and are said to have involved a group called RansomHub and allegedly involves 50GB of stolen data.

READ MORE: Norfolk and Norwich hospital in £47k data breach payout

Ransomware is malicious software used by hackers - and often sent via attachments in emails - to gain access to an organisation's or individual's computer systems.

The criminals then find and encrypt important or sensitive files, and demand a ransom for them to be unlocked.

It is not the first time major employers in Norfolk have suffered such cyber attacks. 

Earlier this year Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital revealed it had paid £46,875 to the victims of five separate data breaches between 2020 and 2023.

In 2023, both Roys of Wroxham and Wymondham College were hit with ransomware data attacks.