British post office Royal Mail has fallen victim to a cyberattack that has paralyzed international mail, according to a BBC report. According to him, parts of the company’s software were infected by malware called Lockbit, known as ransomware. Blackmail software allows criminals to encrypt data and thus render it unusable.
As the BBC reported today, Royal Mail has asked for a ransom of millions of dollars to decrypt the data. The company did not initially confirm that this was a cyberattack. In a message, however, it asked customers not to send letters or packages to international destinations.
According to the BBC, Lockbit was developed and used by hackers with connections to Russia. The perpetrators of the Royal Mail case could therefore be anywhere in the world.
A spokesman for the National Crime Agency said it was working to assess the impact of the incident. According to the BBC, the incident is considered significant because the Royal Mail is part of the country’s important infrastructure.