CVS Group Hit by Major Cyber Attack
CVS Group, the proprietor of one of the largest networks of veterinary clinics in the United Kingdom, has reported a grave “cyber incident” that has significantly disrupted operations across its national branches.
The incident compelled CVS to activate its emergency response plan and shut down certain systems, leading to “serious disruptions” throughout the week, with expectations of continued impact for some time.
The company swiftly enlisted top cybersecurity experts to assess the extent of the damage and assist in strategizing a response. Moreover, the incident was reported to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), a prudent move considering the high risk of personal information leakage of employees and clients.
While the nature of potentially compromised data remains undisclosed, the perpetrators could probably have accessed a broad spectrum of confidential information, including personal documents, financial details, and other critical files.
CVS Group owns approximately 500 veterinary clinics worldwide, the majority of which are located in the United Kingdom, employing about 9,000 staff, including 3,300 nurses and 2,400 surgeons.
According to CVS, operations outside the UK were unaffected, but the functionality of UK clinics was severely impaired. Nonetheless, the company assured that in most branches, furry patients could still receive quality veterinary care as usual.
To mitigate the repercussions of the incident, CVS Group decided to expedite the migration of key systems to cloud servers, aiming to enhance cybersecurity measures and operational efficiency.
News of the cyberattack adversely affected CVS Group’s shares on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s stock price, with a market capitalization valued at £673 million, saw a sharp decline at the opening of trading on Monday, though it began to recover gradually later on.
The leadership has promised to provide further details on the data recovery process and IT infrastructure restoration as soon as more comprehensive investigation results become available.
