(Reuters) -CVS Group, one of Britain’s biggest veterinary chains, said on Monday it recently identified and intercepted unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems, resulting in disruptions to its UK operations.
The company said it took immediate steps, but did not specify the nature of the information that was accessed or its financial impact, if any.
“Specialist third party consultants have been engaged to investigate the nature and extent of the incident … CVS has also proactively informed the relevant authorities … due to the risk of malicious access to personal information,” the company said in a statement.
However, some systems are not working as efficiently as normal and this is likely to result in an ongoing operational impact in the UK for a number of weeks, the London-listed firm added.
Shares in CVS Group dropped 2.7% to 907.32 pence in early Monday trade, adding to losses of about 44% so far this year, amid the threat of a potential probe into the vet sector by Britain’s competition watchdog over pricing and competition concerns.
In February, the company said it expects results for the year ended June 30, 2024, to be in line with market expectations.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sonali Paul)
