Royal Mail Admits Data Breach After IT Glitch

The Royal Mail has acknowledged a data breach that occurred on Tuesday evening, after a problem with one of its websites.

The problem resulted in a “limited number” of customers being able to see information about other customer’s orders.

The Royal mail blamed the data breach on a “technical problem” and at the time of writing it certainly seems to be IT-related, and nothing malicious actions by outside parties.

Post Office

The admission came in a statement on Royal Mail’s Click and Drop status updates website around on Tuesday afternoon.

“Identified – We have been made aware there was an issue affecting Click & Drop that meant some customers could see other customer’s orders,” it stated.

“As a protective measure, we have stopped access to Click & Drop temporarily,” it said. “We fully understand and apologise for the inconvenience caused by this. Our engineers are working as hard as possible to get the site back up and running as expected.”

“We are investigating the incident in order to fix the IT issue so that you can post as soon as possible,” it added.

The Royal Mail confirmed the problem was resolved at 18.01GMT on Tuesday.

“Resolved – The issue has been fixed, service has been restored,” it stated. “We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused our customers. The root cause is now under investigation.”

It is likely that the Royal Mail will have to register the breach with the UK’s data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Drone usage

The development comes after Royal Mail last month confirmed that 5,000 to 6,000 roles are to be made redundant by August next year.

The job losses have been blamed on industrial action taken by Royal Mail workers, delays in improving productivity and falling parcel volumes.

In May this year, the Royal Mail revealed it would increase its use of drones for deliveries with the creation of 50 new “postal drone routes” over the next three years.

The Royal Mail teamed up with logistics drone company Windracers, but the plan is subject to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval.

The Royal Mail wants to use drones to provide faster and more convenient services for remote communities.

The use of these drones will also help further reduce Royal Mail’s carbon emissions and improve the reliability of island mail services, the company said.

The Royal Mail currently uses ferries, conventional aircraft and land-based delivery which can be affected by bad weather.

The first routes identified for the new service include the Isles of Scilly, Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Hebrides.

Royal Mail said it was aiming to use up to 200 drones over the next three years, increasing to more than 500, servicing all corners of the UK.