Security breach experienced by Capita

You may have seen media coverage recently regarding a cyber-attack incident which Capita suffered at the end of March 2023. A cyber-attack is an attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer, computing system or computer network with the intent to cause damage or steal data.

Capita informed us of a cyber incident on 31 March 2023 but at that time could not confirm whether any personal data of Scheme members had been affected.  Since then, we have been in regular contact with the senior management team of Capita to understand better the nature and scope of the incident and ascertain if any Scheme member data was impacted. 

During the course of April, Capita informed us that they had taken steps to isolate and contain the incident whilst they continued to investigate what had happened.  However, on 17 May 2023 Capita informed us that a file containing some of our member’s data was exposed during the Cyber incident. We have written separately to all members impacted by the security breach. 

Capita is still undertaking its investigation and it may be that we will receive further information from them. We will update you if there is anything further you should be aware of. We are also working closely with Capita to: (i) review the security of that data and (ii) to obtain assurances from Capita that their systems and practices have been updated to take into account their learnings from this incident and to minimise any ongoing risk to members.

Do I need to take any action?

Whilst we have written to impacted members, we encourage all members to be particularly vigilant if you receive any unexpected emails, telephone calls, texts or letters.  Please ensure you do not share any personal or financial information when responding to emails, texts or telephone calls and check your bank, building society and credit card accounts regularly for any unusual payments that you do not recognise. For prudence, the Trustees also encourage you to reset the password that you use to access the Capita member portal via www.rspensions.co.uk and to set a strong, unique password.

Cyber criminals commonly use a scam technique called phishing, which is mostly email- or text-based, to lure victims under false pretences to access websites which look legitimate to get them to provide personal information including passwords, bank account and credit card details. These emails appear to be from recognisable sources such as banks but actually link to fraudulent websites.  They can often be made to appear more convincing by including certain information that criminals have obtained through other means, such as an account number or postcode.

In order to guard against such scams:

• Protect your email account with a strong password (tip: use 3 random words to create a single password that’s difficult to crack).
• Do not share your password with anyone.
• Regularly install the latest security updates to your browser software and personal computing devices.
• If in any doubt, do not open emails or texts that seem unusual. Instead, phone the company purporting to have contacted you via a phone number that you find on their corporate website.
• Check that any links look correct before you click on them.Bear in mind that criminals go to considerable lengths to make fraudulent links appear genuine. If in doubt, don’t click.
• Be suspicious of anyone who asks for your bank account or credit card details.
• If the email or text contains spelling mistakes, this can be a sign that this is a phishing scam. However, this is not fool proof and many malicious emails and texts can be spelled correctly.
• If you think you have been a victim of fraud you should report it to Action Fraud, the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre, on 0300 123 2040.

It’s also important to realise that similar scams can be performed via post and via the phone so please be vigilant.

If you have any concerns relating to the cyber incident please email RPensions.UK@rs.rsgroup.com

RS Group Pension Trustees Limited