Telematics giant Microlise suffers cyber attack

Microlise has suffered a cyber attack, with a large proportion of the company’s services affected, leaving fleets without some tracking services.

The Microlise board says it has appointed external cyber security specialists whose investigations are underway to establish the nature and extent of the incident. 

The Microlise team is working hard to quickly bring the affected services back online, it added.

The telematics company has notified the relevant regulators and law enforcement agencies, including the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK. 

In a statement, Microlise said: “We are mindful of our obligations regarding data; it is too soon yet to make any determination around the impact this incident has had on personal data, but we will inform any individuals in line with our regulatory obligations should there be a need to do so.

“The company has relevant cyber insurance and is in discussions with its insurance provider.” 

It added: “The company does not currently anticipate that this incident will have a material adverse impact on its forecasts or financial position.”

Microlise provides technology to more than 400 fleets in the UK, including 88% of UK grocery retailers, and has a 58% share of those fleets operating 500-plus heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). 

DHL tracking services provided by Microlise were reportedly hit yesterday (Thursday, October 31), with deliveries to Nisa stores being impacted.

A DHL spokesperson told Better Retailing: “DHL Supply Chain UK is aware of a downtime incident impacting Microlise, a third-party supplier which we use. We can confirm this incident has not affected DHL-owned systems. 

“However, as a precaution we have implemented our appropriate safeguarding measures. 

“We are working to resolve the situation and have implemented contingencies to ensure that service levels are maintained for those customers who may be potentially impacted.”

The spokesperson added: “The incident has no relation to or impact on any other operations of DHL Group (including DHL Express, DHL eCommerce or DHL Global Forwarding).

“We are in direct communication with the supplier and will communicate any further updates as necessary.”

Microlise said it would like to thank customers for their “patience and understanding” while it works to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

Robert Cottrill, technology director UK tech company and cyber security specialists, ANS, told Fleet News: “The cyber attack impacting DHL systems is a stark reminder that you’re only as secure as the weakest link in your partner network. 

“The incident underscores that no organisation is completely immune from cyber threats.

“This serves as a call to action for companies to reassess the proactive cyber security strategies and incident response plans of all partners within their network.”