“Workarounds” Helped Royal Mail Resume Shipping After Ransomware Attack

UK postal service Royal Mail announced on January 18, 2022, that it has resumed some “limited” international shipping following the ransomware attack that hit the company on January 11.

These limited services include “International Standard and International Economy letters which do not require a customs declaration” and “International Business Standard (untracked) and International Business Economy personal correspondence letters (which do not require a customs declaration,” Royal Mail said in an update post published on its Customer Help Centre on January 20.

This is due to “operational workarounds” that allowed the company to bypass systems impacted by the ransomware attack.  It is likely the perpetrator of the attack is linked to the LockBit hacker group.

The company also asked customers not to submit any new export parcels into the network that do not fall into the two categories listed above.

The rest of Royal Mail services, including UK services, import operations and Parcelforce Worldwide export services, are working, although customers could face “minor delays.”

“Royal Mail continues to work with external experts, the security authorities and regulators to mitigate the impact of this cyber incident, with a focus on restoring export services,” the company said.