Welsh Language Commissioner website hacked and personal data stolen

The website of the Welsh language Commissioner has been hacked.

According to an internal letter sent by the government, the office of the Welsh Language Commissioner was hacked and personal data was stolen.

It added that the hackers had gained access to all their data, have managed to decrypt it, and are threatening to publish it if they are not paid a ransom.

The letter, which was revealed to Cymru Fyw, states that the Commissioner’s Office is unable to access its system at all and that it is in discussions with the National Cyber Security Centre.

‘Confirm’ 

A spokesperson for the Commissioner told BBC Cymru: “We can confirm that the Information Technology of the Welsh Language Commissioner has had a cyber attack.

“We are working with relevant bodies to investigate and deal with the situation.

“In the meantime we would urge anyone who wants to contact us to do that through Facebook or Twitter because our entire information technology system has been affected.”

Yesterday a spokesperson for the Commissioner put this message out on social media: “The Welsh Language Commissioner’s IT systems are down at the moment.

“This has affected our website, email system and main switchboard. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, please do so via Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.”