Sick cyber crooks are alleged to have targeted toddlers, stealing the pictures, names, and addresses of around 8,000 children from the Kido nursery chain. The disturbing attack on a nursery chain with 18 sites in and around London would be the latest in a series of so-called ransomware incidents in Britain, where online criminals demand money after stealing sensitive information from company databases.
According to the BBC, the data thieves have also stolen information about children’s parents and safeguarding notes. It’s reported that some parents have even been contacted by the crooks on their phones as part of a plot to extort cash directly from worried mums, dads, and guardians.
The Daily Express has contacted Kido for comment, but the BBC states that an employee at the firm has revealed they have been informed about the breach. Cybercrime in the UK has cost companies millions, with high-profile strikes against Marks & Spencer and the Co-op in April and an assault on Jaguar Land Rover in recent weeks. National infrastructure has also been disrupted, with Heathrow Airport attacked this month.
The BBC reports it was contacted by the hacking group responsible for the breach against Kido, and that details of the online assault have been published on the gang’s darknet website.
Cyber-security expert Graeme Stuart, from hacking monitoring firm Check Point, said the cyber attack on the nursery chain was “an absolute low”. He told the BBC: “To deliberately put children and schools in the firing line is indefensible. Frankly, it is appalling.”
Police advise companies not to engage with ransom demands from hackers for fear it will encourage the practice.
Modern companies store thousands of pieces of personal information about their customers online, and cyber criminals have been increasingly staging attacks to steal the data and then demand money for its safe return. If the demands are not met the web villains threaten to release the information online potentially causing a PR disaster for the company involved and sparking legal repercussions.
Recent high-profile victims of cyber attacks have been high street giant Marks & Spencer and the supermarket chain, The Co-op, both targeted in April this year. The latter reported on Thursday the hack caused the loss of £206m in revenue and M&S previously said it believed the cyber attack would lead to £300 million in lost operating profit, and disruption to online services
The National Crime Agency told Express.co.uk the alleged cyber incident against Kido was not something being investigated at this stage.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told the Daily Express: “Met Police received a referral on Thursday, 25 September following reports of a ransomware attack on a London-based organisation.
“Enquiries are ongoing and remain in the early stages within the Met’s Cyber Crime Unit. No arrests have been made.”
