Cross-Solid ferry operator Red Funnel has come under attack, and important information technology systems have been shut down – but customer data, including payment details, is said to be secure.
On MondayThe Red Funnel reported that they were experiencing IT problems with an unexplained problem affecting online booking, phone booking, customer account inquiries and number plate authentication at check-in.
Now, on the third day of the crash, they believe the company has been subjected to a malicious attack designed to control their operations – a hacking.
At this point, data theft does not appear to be an intention and there is no evidence of personal data leakage.
Online and phone bookings, customer account inquiries, automatic number plate authentication at check-in and direct service status updates are not available at this time.
Red Funnel CEO Fran Collins said in a statement Island Echo:
“While we are still in the midst of resolving the situation, many of our internal systems seem to have disintegrated. Like some other internal systems, our booking and schedule management system has been affected.
“In line with best practice, we immediately prioritize our investigation to verify any sources of personal data leaks, and we can confirm that we have not found any evidence that any such leaks may have occurred. We can be sure that the card data is never at risk with us.
“Our teams have been working hard to restore our settings and look forward to relaunching the basic version of our online booking system in the next 24 hours or less. We are working to get it up and running soon.
“We will continue to inform customers when we have more information. In the meantime, we advise anyone who is already traveling without booking to arrive on board their boat in advance to make sure they have enough time to make a reservation and make a reservation. You can pay at the terminal for a one-way trip or return trip on the same day. Those who need to arrange a return trip the next day or so will have to wait to book their return leg online or by phone when our computer becomes available.
“Since Monday, all passengers who have traveled without a reservation have been able to board the boat of their choice, so I would like to make sure that there is no problem with the delivery as per the requirement of our customers. Again, we advise everyone traveling with us to arrive a little earlier than usual.
“We would like to thank our customers and staff for their patience at this time and apologize for any inconvenience.”
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