Clarksons suffers cyber security attack

Maritime and offshore intelligence provider Clarksons PLC has been a subject of a cybersecurity incident by unnamed perpetrators.

Clarksons said on Wednesday that the cybersecurity incident involved unauthorized access to the company’s computer systems.

“Our initial investigations have shown the unauthorised access was gained via a single and isolated user account which has now been disabled. We have also put in place additional security measures to best prevent a similar incident happening in the future. Clarksons would like to reassure clients and shareholders that this incident has not, and does not, affect its ability to do business,” the company said.

Worth noting, the company also warned that “today, the person or persons behind the incident may release some data.”

Clarksons added it was working with the police in relation to this incident. In addition, the data in question is confidential and lawyers are on standby wherever needed to take the necessary steps to preserve the confidentiality of the information, Clarksons said.

The company apologized to shareholders, clients and staff “for any concerns this incident may raise.”

“Clarksons is in the process of contacting potentially affected clients and individuals directly,” the company said.

“I hope our clients understand that we would not be held to ransom by criminals,” CEO

Since the incident, Clarksons has been working with data security specialists to investigate further and has notified the relevant regulatory bodies. As part of this, the company is continuing with a wider review of cyber security that began earlier this year and is, among other things, accelerating the roll-out of additional IT security measures.

Andi Case, CEO of Clarksons, said: “Issues of cybersecurity are at the forefront of many business agendas in today’s digital and commercial landscape and, despite our extensive efforts we have suffered this criminal attack. As you would rightly expect, we’re working closely with specialist police teams and data security experts to do all we can to best understand the incident and what we can do to protect our clients now and in the future.

“We hope that, in time, we can share the lessons learned with our clients to help stop them from becoming victims themselves. In the meantime, I hope our clients understand that we would not be held to ransom by criminals, and I would like to sincerely apologize for any concern this incident may have understandably raised.”