Royal Mail tells customers not to send items abroad after cyber attack

CYBER ATTACK: The company has reported ‘severe’ disruption to its overseas service (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Reporting by Ruby Flanagan

Royal Mail has said that customers should not send items abroad until “further notice” following a cyber attack.

The delivery company said it is continuing to experience “severe service disruption” following a “cyber incident” – however, no further details have been confirmed. The National Cyber Security Centre has said it’s aware of the incident and the group first announced it had been affected by the attack last week as reported by The Mirror.

In a statement, Royal Mail said: “To support faster recovery when our service is restored and to prevent a build-up of export items in our network, we’re asking customers not to post international items until further notice. Items that have already been dispatched may be subject to delays.”

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The back office system which is used by Royal Mail to prepare mail for being sent abroad and to track and trace overseas items was affected by the incident. In a statement, Royal Mail said it was temporarily unable to despatch export items, which included letters and parcels to overseas destinations.

People were told to “avoid” posting any items abroad while the problem is tackled. When Royal Mail reported the breach, it described the incident as a “cyber-incident” instead of an attack as the group did not know the cause of the issue. It also said it had “immediately” launched an investigation and were working with its external partners.

It remains unclear how long the disruption will go on.

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