Cyber-attack on WH Smith targets personal staff details

WH Smith has been the target of a cyber-attack in which company data was accessed illegally, including the personal details of current and former employees, the retailer has revealed.

The retailer said it was trading strongly and would report its half-year financial results on 20 April.

According to a government report last year, two in five UK businesses had reported cybersecurity breaches or attacks in the previous 12 months.

In 2018, the government estimated that cybercrime costs the UK economy £28bn a year. However, the scale of the problem is thought to be growing as business is increasingly carried out online, with organised criminal gangs and state actors involved in attacks. The increase in cybercrime aimed at individuals was fuelled in recent years by scams exploiting the pandemic.