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Tuesday, 05 January 2021 09:03

Cyber attack - SEPA hit by “complex and sophisticated criminality”

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has confirmed that it has been responding to a significant cyber attack affecting its contact centre and internal systems. 
DATA ANALYTICS

 Whilst core regulatory, monitoring, flood forecasting and warning services have continued, communications into and across the organisation have been significantly impacted.

David Pirie, Executive Director at SEPA commented:

“At one minute past midnight on Christmas Eve, SEPA systems were subject to a significant and ongoing cyber-attack.  The attack is impacting our contact centre, internal systems, processes and internal communications.

“We immediately enacted our robust business continuity arrangements, with our core regulatory, monitoring, flood forecasting and warning services adapting and continuing to operate.”

SEPA’s Emergency Management Team has been working with Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the National Cyber Security Centre to respond to what it described as “complex and sophisticated criminality.”

The Agency has asked people who want to contact it to do so via its social media channels on Facebook and Twitter.

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