Britain’s computerized recruitment system was shut down for most of the war in Ukraine after candidates’ data were compromised in a possible hack, prompting worried officials to suspend operations.
The subscription portal has been offline since mid-March, when it was closed as a precautionary measure, when data related to approximately 120 army recruits offered for sale on the Dark Network was discovered.
Defense sources said they would not comment on whether Russia or Russian actors were involved, although it has been suggested that this is a low-level compromise, as it is unclear whether there was hacking or someone just received a photo or printout.
A spokesman for the British Army said: “After compromising a small set of recruitment data, the army’s online recruitment services have been suspended pending an investigation.
“This investigation has been completed, allowing some features to be restored and applications processed.”
Hacking of soldiers’ data is typical of the war in Ukraine, with the hacker group Anonymous claiming to have distributed personal data to 120,000 Russian soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine in early April.
Sign up for the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am
The internal defense recruitment system has already been restored, the army said after a lengthy investigation, but the external online portal is down and the problem has complicated recruitment for more than five weeks since Ukraine’s two-month war. Emergency systems have been used to deal with recruitment.
Those who visit the recruitment login page were told that “we are currently experiencing some technical issues” and applicants wishing to be updated had to call a special number if they had any questions about your application. “.
Conflicts often act as an incentive to recruit troops, and until Britain fights the war in Ukraine, there is an increased deployment of British troops in Poland and Estonia, demonstrating the need for a steady flow of recruits.
The recruitment has been carried out jointly by the outsourcing group Capita and the British Army since 2012. But the results are mixed: targets were missed in six years out of eight and the army remained below its official requirement of 82,050 people. Last year, the target was reduced to 72,500 by 2025.
The Office of Information Commissioner for Data Protection said it had been informed of the incident. But a spokesman told the Guardian that “after making inquiries and carefully reviewing the information provided, we decided that no further action was needed at this time.”
It is not yet clear what impact the compromise and suspension will have on the number of employees.
Add Comment