Southern Water, which has customers across Thanet and Kent, says cybercriminals are claiming to have stolen data from the company’s IT systems.
The water firm says it has launched an investigation but “there is no evidence that customer relationships or financial systems have been affected.”
A Southern Water statement says: “We are aware of a claim by cyber criminals that data has been stolen from some of our IT systems.
“We had previously detected suspicious activity, and had launched an investigation, led by independent cyber security specialists.
“Since then, a limited amount of data has been published. However at this point there is no evidence that our customer relationships or financial systems have been affected. Our services are not impacted and are operating normally.
“We have informed the Government, our regulators and the Information Commissioner’s Office; and we are closely following the advice of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) as our investigation continues.
“If, through the investigation, we establish that customers’ or employees’ data has been stolen, we will ensure they are notified, in accordance with our obligations.”
Thanet council was also recently hit by a cyber attack, along with Canterbury and Dover councils.
The Thanet authority’s planning, agendas and live streaming functions have been affected.
