Cyber criminals who hacked children's nursery chain publish more private data online
Cyber criminals who have hacked into systems at Kido - a children's nursery chain - published more private data online on Friday evening, ITV News' Reporter Amy Lewis explains
Cyber criminals who have hacked into systems at a children's nursery chain published more private data online on Friday night.
Photos, names and addresses of around 8,000 children are understood to have been stolen in a cyber attack against nursery group Kido.
Twenty children's profiles - including photographs, dates of birth, and family details - have now been uploaded to the dark web. Employee information is also compromised.
The hacker gang Radiant Group claims it is holding the information in demand for a ransom and has threatened to leak more information.
Parents have been called by the group and urged to put pressure on the nursery to pay.
Kido has 18 sites in the UK - 17 in London and another in Windsor - as well as dozens of others across India, China and the US.
ITV News has approached Kido for comment, but has yet to receive a response.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it received a referral on Thursday following reports of a ransomware attack on a London-based organisation.
It added: "Enquiries are ongoing and remain in the early stages within the Met’s Cyber Crime Unit."
No arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, the National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS), which gives guidance on instances of cyber attacks, described the incident as "deeply distressing".
“Cyber criminals will target anyone if they think there is money to be made, and going after those who look after children is a particularly egregious act," Jonathon Ellison, NCSC Director for National Resilience, added.
“The NCSC has bespoke guidance to help early years settings, such as nurseries, protect themselves from attacks, as well as guidance for individuals who are concerned that their data has been affected by a breach.”
On its website, Kido, which has locations in London, says: “Our international network of schools in the USA, UK, India and China ensures that we bring best practices in operations, training, curriculum and care to each school.”
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below...