CVS Group, a prominent veterinary services provider in the UK, has recently experienced a cyberattack that has caused disruptions to its IT services across its practices nationwide.
CVS Group operates a vast network of 500 veterinary practices across the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland.
Their services include nine specialist referral hospitals, 39 dedicated out-of-hours sites, three laboratories, and seven pet crematoria.
With a workforce of 9,100 employees, including 2,400 veterinary surgeons and 3,400 specialized nurses, CVS Group plays a significant role in providing veterinary care and services.
CVS Alerts of Cyberattack with Breach in IT Systems
In a formal announcement posted on the London Stock Exchange website, CVS Group has alerted stakeholders that unauthorized individuals successfully breached certain IT systems.
In response to this security incident, CVS Group promptly took the necessary measure of shutting down its affected IT systems. However, this action has resulted in disruptions to the company’s operations.
“CVS Group announces it has recently detected and intercepted a cyber incident which had involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems,”
Reads the announcement.
“Upon discovery of the incident, CVS took immediate steps to isolate the issue and, to prevent wider unauthorised access, took its IT systems temporarily offline, as part of the Group’s response plan.”
“Our responses to contain the threat of malicious activity have caused considerable operational disruption over the past week, but to date have been effective in preventing further external access to CVS systems.”
To address the CVS cyberattack and restore its IT services, CVS Group has enlisted the assistance of external experts.
These specialists are currently working alongside CVS Group to investigate the incident thoroughly and ensure the safe restoration of IT services across its clinics. The restoration process is already underway, and notable progress has been achieved.
It is important to note that the impact of the incident is limited to CVS Group’s practices in the UK. Operations outside of the UK are not hosted on CVS infrastructure and remain unaffected.
Furthermore, the cyber incident has prompted CVS Group to expedite its strategic plan to migrate its entire IT infrastructure to the cloud. The company believes that this move will not only enhance security measures but also improve operational efficiency.
By leveraging cloud technology, CVS Group aims to bolster its defenses against future cybersecurity threats while streamlining its overall IT operations.
As part of the strategic plan to enhance security and operational efficiency, CVS Group has outlined its intention to migrate its IT infrastructure to the cloud.
However, this planned migration is anticipated to extend the duration of operational disruptions for UK-based practices by a few weeks, according to CVS Group’s estimates.
The official announcement does not provide any specific information regarding a potential data breach affecting CVS personnel or customers.
It is worth noting that, as of now, no ransomware groups have claimed responsibility for the cyberattack targeting CVS Group. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and any updates regarding the responsible parties or their motives have not been disclosed at this time.
