The parent company of Cambridge Water and South Staffs Water, South Staffordshire PLC, has informed the public in a statement that it has been the target of a cyberattack.

Across 1,500 square kilometres, South Staffordshire provides drinking water to about 1.3 million people and 35,000 commercial clients in the West Midlands, South Derbyshire, North Warwickshire, and North Worcestershire.

A variety of specialised services are offered by the integrated services group, mostly to the water industry in the United Kingdom, but also more and more to owners of other infrastructure.

The firm said in a statement released on August 15 that it had become “the target of a criminal cyber-attack.” As you can think, maintaining safe public water supplies is our top concern, the group stated. “We can certify that we are still providing safe water to all of our Cambridge Water and South Staffs Water customers, and this incident has not impacted our ability to do so. This is a result of our teams’ prompt response to this occurrence and the implementation of the extra precautionary measures we have put in place, as well as the reliable systems and controls over water supply and quality that we always have in place.

South Staffordshire’s corporate IT network was impacted by the hack, but the firm insists that teams are being sent to “resolve this as quickly as possible.

“According to Bleeping Computer, the attack has been attributed to the Clop ransomware gang. The gang first identified Thames Water as the incorrect water source, but they later corrected the mistake and identified South Staffordshire as the true victim.

As investigations into the attack continue, South Staffordshire intends to inform the public.

In the last two years, Clop operators have targeted numerous high-profile targets, including as the cybersecurity industry, pharmaceutical companies, educational institutions, and energy conglomerates.

Maastricht University (UM), a victim organisation in the Netherlands, lately revealed an impressive advancement in the inquiry into its encounter with Clop, which compelled it to pay Bitcoin in order to restore its systems in 2019. The cryptocurrency was successfully traced by authorities, and UM recovered almost half a million euros.

The institution promised to utilise the funds to assist students in need, but claimed the amount was much less than the overall harm caused by the attack.