The United Kingdom Royal Mail has been hit by a “cyber incident” causing some disruption particularly for international delivery services. While the company has not provided any more details about the nature of the incident, it simply says that it is temporarily unable to dispatch items to overseas destinations. In a statement on its website, Royal Mail urged customers to hold on to mail destined for outside the country while it works on fixing the problem.
“…We are temporarily unable to dispatch items to overseas destinations,” the service said, adding, “Some customers may experience delay or disruption to items already shipped for export.” Meanwhile the British government’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) is aware of the incident and says it is working with Royal Mail “and law enforcement partners to understand the impact.”
The Royal mail also operates locally and it is reported that mails within the UK are still in operation, but with minor delays as well. It is not yet clear whether the incident was a targeted attack or a general security breach but, the NCSC’s involvement suggests that it could be a cyber attack.
In 2022, the Royal Mail indicated a mass lay-off it said would likely affect 10,000 jobs citing strikes and losses as chief reasons.
