What will the unprecedented operational delays mean for the UK economy?
A recent cyber attack on a British company that specializes in collecting direct debit payments caused serious cash flow problems for customers, some of whom had to take out short-term loans due to the resulting debts with six-figure amounts.
The attack, which caused the first problems on November 10 and was officially confirmed on November 14, led to significant disruptions in the payment collection system. According to sources, the company's customers could not process most of their payments, and one of the service providers even accumulated a debt of more than $124,000.
Among the main difficulties of clients is insufficient and ambiguous communication on the part of London & Zurich. Initially, the company's status page indicated that the portal should fully restore its operation by November 23, but emails sent to customers on the eve of this date indicate the possibility of making payments only from November 28.
According to reviews left by angry customers on Google, over the past week, many people could not reach the London & Zurich support service, and attempts by journalists to contact the company were also unsuccessful.
The company announced the restoration of most payments for the period from November 9 to November 12, but payments for the period from November 14 to November 22 are scheduled to be made on November 24.
Companies with large and dense cash flows are the most difficult to deal with, and they can't even interrupt their operations for a few hours, let alone for a week or more.
Representatives of London & Zurich declined to comment on questions about possible compromise of client data, methods of penetration of intruders and their belonging to a certain group.
However, the company said it has launched an investigation into the incident with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts and has taken steps to localize the problem.
Passwords of all clients were changed on November 21 in anticipation of the portal's resumption of operation, and the ability to register new clients, as stated by representatives, will be available again by the end of this week.
A recent cyber attack on a British company that specializes in collecting direct debit payments caused serious cash flow problems for customers, some of whom had to take out short-term loans due to the resulting debts with six-figure amounts.
The attack, which caused the first problems on November 10 and was officially confirmed on November 14, led to significant disruptions in the payment collection system. According to sources, the company's customers could not process most of their payments, and one of the service providers even accumulated a debt of more than $124,000.
Among the main difficulties of clients is insufficient and ambiguous communication on the part of London & Zurich. Initially, the company's status page indicated that the portal should fully restore its operation by November 23, but emails sent to customers on the eve of this date indicate the possibility of making payments only from November 28.
According to reviews left by angry customers on Google, over the past week, many people could not reach the London & Zurich support service, and attempts by journalists to contact the company were also unsuccessful.
The company announced the restoration of most payments for the period from November 9 to November 12, but payments for the period from November 14 to November 22 are scheduled to be made on November 24.
Companies with large and dense cash flows are the most difficult to deal with, and they can't even interrupt their operations for a few hours, let alone for a week or more.
Representatives of London & Zurich declined to comment on questions about possible compromise of client data, methods of penetration of intruders and their belonging to a certain group.
However, the company said it has launched an investigation into the incident with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts and has taken steps to localize the problem.
Passwords of all clients were changed on November 21 in anticipation of the portal's resumption of operation, and the ability to register new clients, as stated by representatives, will be available again by the end of this week.
