The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a fine of £14m to Capita for failing to ensure the security of personal data related to a breach in 2023 that saw hackers steal millions of people’s information.
Capita plc has been fined £8m and Capita Pension Solutions Limited has been fined £6m, giving a combined total of £14m.
The cyber attack took place in March 2023. The personal information of 6.6 million people was stolen, from pension records and staff records to the details of customers of organisations Capita supports. For some people, this included sensitive information such as details of criminal records, financial data or special category data.
Capita Pension Solutions Limited processes personal information on behalf of over 600 organisations providing pension schemes, with 325 of these organisations also impacted by the data breach.
The ICO’s investigation found that Capita had failed to ensure the security of processing of personal data which left it at significant risk, as well as lacking the appropriate technical and organisational measures to effectively respond to the attack.
Capita chief executive Adolfo Hernandez said, “When I joined as CEO the year after the attack I accelerated our cyber security transformation, with new digital and technology leadership and significant investment.
“As a result, we have hugely strengthened our cybersecurity posture, built in advanced protections and embedded a culture of continuous vigilance.”
John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner, said, “Capita failed in its duty to protect the data entrusted to it by millions of people. The scale of this breach and its impact could have been prevented had sufficient security measures been in place.
“When a company of Capita’s size falls short, the consequences can be significant. Not only for those whose data is compromised – many of whom have told us of the anxiety and stress they have suffered – but for wider trust amongst the public and for our future prosperity. As our fine shows, no organisation is too big to ignore its responsibilities.
“Maintaining good cybersecurity is fundamental to economic growth and security. With so many cyber attacks in the headlines, our message is clear: every organisation, no matter how large, must take proactive steps to keep people’s data secure. Cyber criminals don’t wait, so businesses can’t afford to wait either – taking action today could prevent the worst from happening tomorrow.”
The ICO initially informed Capita of its provisional intention to fine it a combined total of £45m. Capita then submitted representations and mitigating factors on the provisional decision, which have been carefully considered by the ICO. This included the improvements made after the attack, support offered to affected individuals and engagement with other regulators and the National Cyber Security Centre.
The ICO and Capita have now agreed to a voluntary settlement. Capita has acknowledged the ICO’s decision and admitted liability, agreeing to pay a final penalty of £14 million without appealing.
The attack began when a malicious file was unintentionally downloaded onto an employee device on 22 March 2023. Despite a high priority security alert being raised within 10 minutes of the breach and some immediate automated action being taken, Capita did not quarantine the device for 58 hours, during which the attacker was able to exploit its systems.
This file enabled the deployment of malicious software onto the Capita network, allowing the hacker to stay in the system, gain administrator permissions and access other areas of the network. Between 29 and 30 March 2023, nearly one terabyte of data was exfiltrated. On 31 March 2023, ransomware was deployed onto Capita systems and the hacker reset all user passwords, preventing Capita staff from accessing their systems and network. The ICO received at least 93 complaints in relation to this attack.
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