Labour’s membership services are currently down, and the party has confirmed it is due to a “cyber incident” inflicted on a third party that handles their data, resulting in a “significant quantity of Party data being rendered inaccessible”. Breaking statement from the Labour Party:

“On 29 October 2021, we were informed of a cyber incident by a third party that handles data on our behalf. The third party told us that the incident had resulted in a significant quantity of Party data being rendered inaccessible on their systems.

As soon as the Party was notified of these matters, we engaged third-party experts and the incident was immediately reported to the relevant authorities, including the National Crime Agency (NCA), National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The Party continues to work closely with each of these authorities. The Party is also working closely and on an urgent basis with the third party in order to understand the full nature, circumstances and impact of the incident. The Party’s own data systems were unaffected by this incident.

We understand that the data includes information provided to the Party by its members, registered and affiliated supporters, and other individuals who have provided their information to the Party. The full scope and impact of the incident is being urgently investigated.

The Party takes the security of all personal information for which it is responsible very seriously. It is doing everything within its power to investigate and address this incident in close liaison with law enforcement, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the affected third party.”