Computer systems have abruptly stopped working at the outsourcing group Capita, triggering fears that the company that runs crucial operations for the NHS and the military could be under cyber-attack.
Staff are understood to have been unable to access IT systems since Friday morning, and an early investigation has yet to establish the cause.
A spokesperson for Capita, who was unable to access their own email, said in a statement dictated over the phone: “We are aware of a technical issue with our systems, which we are investigating.”
A source familiar with the outage said the National Cyber Security Centre, the Cabinet Office and other government agencies had been alerted to the incident, given the group’s role in sensitive areas such as Royal Navy training centres and security at Ministry of Defence bases.
People at sites including critical national infrastructure have resorted to using radios, pens and paper, the source said.
Some employees still have access to computers and email, and the company said its investigation was in the early stages and that it was too soon to tell if the failure was caused by a cyber-attack.
According to sources at Capita, staff tried to log in to systems from 7am but were not aware until receiving a text from the company at 8.45am that there was a company-wide problem.
One staff member, who asked not to be named, said they were unable to log in to their laptop, with their usual password rejected as “incorrect”. They said employees could not access Capita’s systems or any other computer programmes.
Staff were told by text: “We are urgently investigating this and will provide you with an update shortly. Please do not attempt to access via VPN or submit password recovery requests.”
The outage, first reported by the Times, is likely to concern the UK government because Capita has contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to manage key public services across a broad spread of government departments.
Its public service division, whose main customer is the British government, reported revenues of £1.4bn last year, consolidating its position as a key supplier at the heart of the government’s efforts to improve digital services.
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It provides primary care support services for the NHS, recruitment for the British army, maintenance at the UK’s Submarine Training Centre, and fire and rescue operations for the Ministry of Defence, a contract worth £525m over 12 years.
It operates Transport for London’s road-charging system, covering the congestion charge and ultra-low emissions zone, and the Department for Work and Pensions’ disability payment assessments. It also holds a contract with HM Revenue and Customs to automate some of the tax collection authority’s processes.
In April 2022, Capita secured a two-year contract extension with Northern Ireland’s Education Authority to continue to deliver IT services for all of Northern Ireland’s 1,100 schools.
