Company Details
southern-water
2,707
51,135
22
southernwater.co.uk
0
SOU_1866891
In-progress


Southern Water Company CyberSecurity Posture
southernwater.co.ukWe are one of the largest water and wastewater companies in the South East of England and thrive on the passion and hard work of more than 2,000 employees. Together we supply 532 million litres of drinking water every day to more than two million customers and treat and recycle 717 million litres of wastewater for more than four million customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Water is essential to every aspect of our lives and we're proud to be at the heart of managing water and wastewater services. We drink it, cook with it and use it to clean. Our water supply faces big challenges - the population of the South East is growing fast, and climate change is bringing greater risk of droughts and more extreme weather. It’s a future of more people needing water and wastewater services, with less water to go around. So, together with our customers and communities, we aim to provide a sustainable, high-quality water and wastewater service that helps us create a resilient future for water in the South East. Find out more about us: Website: www.southernwater.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/SouthernWater Twitter: @SouthernWater Instagram: @southernwatermedia We use market research tools to improve our service. For more info, visit: https://www.southernwater.co.uk/our-customers/privacy
Company Details
southern-water
2,707
51,135
22
southernwater.co.uk
0
SOU_1866891
In-progress
Between 700 and 749

Southern Water Global Score (TPRM)XXXX

Description: Ransomware Tabletop Exercise Tests Water Utility’s Cyber Resilience at Infosecurity Europe At this year’s *Infosecurity Europe* conference, cybersecurity vendor Semperis hosted *Operation 999*, a high-stakes ransomware tabletop simulation targeting a fictional UK water utility, Springfieldshire Water Treatment. The exercise pitted a red team of attackers against a blue team of defenders comprising CISOs, security leaders, and incident response experts to test real-world response strategies in a critical infrastructure scenario. ### The Attack Unfolds The red team launched their assault on December 24, exploiting the utility’s outdated SCADA-based industrial control systems, which were integrated with its IT network. Timing the attack for maximum disruption when staff were on holiday and the head engineer was celebrating a birthday the attackers escalated privileges, encrypted sensitive data, and exfiltrated corporate emails. Their goal: a £20 million ransom, with no intent to sabotage operations (avoiding terrorist-like consequences). When the blue team detected suspicious encryption activity, they followed protocol, notifying the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and regulators a move prompted by legal warnings about potential fines or liability. External incident response specialists were brought in, while the utility’s leadership faced public backlash, including a press conference by the local council demanding action. ### Extortion Tactics and Financial Exploitation After the blue team refused to pay the ransom backed by authorities and crisis experts the attackers pivoted, leaking customer records online to pressure the utility. Despite the denial, the red team still profited by shorting Springfieldshire Water Treatment’s stock ahead of the attack, exploiting a pending takeover bid by a rival utility. ### Key Takeaways from the Simulation 1. Critical Infrastructure Vulnerabilities – The exercise highlighted the risks of IT-OT convergence, where outdated SCADA systems create entry points for attackers. 2. Stakeholder Coordination – The blue team’s response involved rapid communication with regulators, legal teams, and external experts, though assumptions about reaching stakeholders during a holiday proved optimistic. 3. Financial Motives Over Disruption – Unlike nation-state actors, ransomware groups prioritize profit, using extortion and market manipulation (e.g., stock shorting) rather than physical sabotage. 4. Public and Media Fallout – The attack triggered social media panic and misinformation, underscoring the need for controlled crisis communications. ### Broader Industry Context The scenario mirrored real-world threats: a Semperis survey found that 62% of UK/US utilities were targeted in the past year, with 54% suffering permanent system damage. Meanwhile, Mikko Hypponen of WithSecure noted in a keynote that ransomware presents a more persistent risk than natural disasters, with attackers relentlessly probing defenses. Led by Steve Hill (former Credit Suisse CISO) and featuring security leaders from bp and Schillings Partners, the exercise demonstrated how tabletop simulations akin to military war games can sharpen incident response plans, even if they can’t replicate the chaos of a live attack. The blue team ultimately focused on containment, resilience, and long-term mitigation, reinforcing the need for updated playbooks and cross-team collaboration in critical sectors.
Description: British supplier of liquid of life, Southern Water botched its internal Sharepoint. They had set up Sharepoint to host customer information as a “your account” style section of their website which exposed URLs that tweaked to view other people’s account information. A vulnerability in this management area allowed any logged-in customer to view bills and documents from other customers, as well as retrieve authentication tokens which allowed for direct API access to their internal billing SharePoint site. Compromised data included customer’s full name, address, customer account number, payment reference number, bill, and payment dates, account balance, payment amount, bill amount, meter details, and meter readings.


No incidents recorded for Southern Water in 2026.
No incidents recorded for Southern Water in 2026.
No incidents recorded for Southern Water in 2026.
Southern Water cyber incidents detection timeline including parent company and subsidiaries

We are one of the largest water and wastewater companies in the South East of England and thrive on the passion and hard work of more than 2,000 employees. Together we supply 532 million litres of drinking water every day to more than two million customers and treat and recycle 717 million litres of wastewater for more than four million customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Water is essential to every aspect of our lives and we're proud to be at the heart of managing water and wastewater services. We drink it, cook with it and use it to clean. Our water supply faces big challenges - the population of the South East is growing fast, and climate change is bringing greater risk of droughts and more extreme weather. It’s a future of more people needing water and wastewater services, with less water to go around. So, together with our customers and communities, we aim to provide a sustainable, high-quality water and wastewater service that helps us create a resilient future for water in the South East. Find out more about us: Website: www.southernwater.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/SouthernWater Twitter: @SouthernWater Instagram: @southernwatermedia We use market research tools to improve our service. For more info, visit: https://www.southernwater.co.uk/our-customers/privacy

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Are this year's major attacks the "cumulative effect of a kind of inaction on cyber security" from the government and big business?

Explore insights on cybersecurity incidents, risk posture, and Rankiteo's assessments.
The official website of Southern Water is http://www.southernwater.co.uk/.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water’s AI-generated cybersecurity score is 746, reflecting their Moderate security posture.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water currently holds 0 security badges, indicating that no recognized compliance certifications are currently verified for the organization.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water has not been affected by any supply chain cyber incidents, and no incident IDs are currently listed for the organization.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water is not certified under SOC 2 Type 1.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water does not hold a SOC 2 Type 2 certification.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water is not listed as GDPR compliant.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water does not currently maintain PCI DSS compliance.
According to Rankiteo, Southern Water is not compliant with HIPAA regulations.
According to Rankiteo,Southern Water is not certified under ISO 27001, indicating the absence of a formally recognized information security management framework.
Southern Water operates primarily in the Utilities industry.
Southern Water employs approximately 2,707 people worldwide.
Southern Water presently has no subsidiaries across any sectors.
Southern Water’s official LinkedIn profile has approximately 51,135 followers.
Southern Water is classified under the NAICS code 22, which corresponds to Utilities.
Yes, Southern Water has an official profile on Crunchbase, which can be accessed here: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/southern-water.
Yes, Southern Water maintains an official LinkedIn profile, which is actively utilized for branding and talent engagement, which can be accessed here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southern-water.
As of January 25, 2026, Rankiteo reports that Southern Water has experienced 2 cybersecurity incidents.
Southern Water has an estimated 4,236 peer or competitor companies worldwide.
Incident Types: The types of cybersecurity incidents that have occurred include Vulnerability and Cyber Attack.
Detection and Response: The company detects and responds to cybersecurity incidents through an third party assistance with external incident response specialists, and and containment measures with network segmentation, enhanced monitoring, and communication strategy with social media statements, communication strategy with press conferences, communication strategy with media outreach, and and .
Title: Southern Water SharePoint Data Exposure
Description: A vulnerability in Southern Water's SharePoint management area allowed any logged-in customer to view bills and documents from other customers, as well as retrieve authentication tokens which allowed for direct API access to their internal billing SharePoint site.
Type: Data Exposure
Attack Vector: Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR)
Vulnerability Exploited: Improper Access Control in SharePoint
Title: Operation 999: Ransomware Attack on Springfieldshire Water Treatment
Description: A ransomware tabletop simulation exercise where a red team targeted Springfieldshire Water Treatment, encrypting sensitive data, escalating privileges, and attempting to extort £20 million. The blue team responded by activating incident response plans, notifying authorities, and refusing to pay the ransom. The attackers leaked customer records online and profited from shorting the company's stock.
Type: Ransomware
Attack Vector: SCADA-based industrial control systems integrated with IT systems
Vulnerability Exploited: Outdated SCADA systems, integrated IT/OT environment
Threat Actor: Red team (simulated attackers)
Motivation: Financial gain (extortion, stock manipulation)
Common Attack Types: The most common types of attacks the company has faced is Cyber Attack.
Identification of Attack Vectors: The company identifies the attack vectors used in incidents through Outdated SCADA systems integrated with IT.

Data Compromised: Customer full name, Address, Customer account number, Payment reference number, Bill and payment dates, Account balance, Payment amount, Bill amount, Meter details, Meter readings
Systems Affected: SharePointAPI

Data Compromised: Sensitive corporate data, emails, customer records
Systems Affected: SCADA systemsIT systemsEndpoints
Operational Impact: Potential disruption to water treatment services (simulated)
Brand Reputation Impact: Public panic, media scrutiny, reputational damage
Legal Liabilities: Potential fines or liability issues due to regulatory non-compliance
Identity Theft Risk: Customer records leaked online
Commonly Compromised Data Types: The types of data most commonly compromised in incidents are Customer Full Name, Address, Customer Account Number, Payment Reference Number, Bill And Payment Dates, Account Balance, Payment Amount, Bill Amount, Meter Details, Meter Readings, , Corporate Data, Emails, Customer Records and .

Entity Name: Southern Water
Entity Type: Utility
Industry: Water Supply
Location: United Kingdom

Entity Name: Springfieldshire Water Treatment
Entity Type: Water utility
Industry: Utilities
Location: UK
Size: Serves one million customers
Customers Affected: One million customers (simulated)

Incident Response Plan Activated: True
Third Party Assistance: External incident response specialists
Containment Measures: Network segmentation, enhanced monitoring
Communication Strategy: Social media statementsPress conferencesMedia outreach
Network Segmentation: True
Third-Party Assistance: The company involves third-party assistance in incident response through External incident response specialists.

Type of Data Compromised: Customer full name, Address, Customer account number, Payment reference number, Bill and payment dates, Account balance, Payment amount, Bill amount, Meter details, Meter readings
Sensitivity of Data: High
Personally Identifiable Information: Customer full nameAddress

Type of Data Compromised: Corporate data, Emails, Customer records
Sensitivity of Data: High (personally identifiable information, corporate sensitive data)
Data Encryption: True
Handling of PII Incidents: The company handles incidents involving personally identifiable information (PII) through by network segmentation and enhanced monitoring.

Ransom Demanded: £20 million
Data Encryption: True
Data Exfiltration: True

Fines Imposed: Potential fines (simulated)
Regulatory Notifications: UK National Cyber Security CentreRegulators

Lessons Learned: Importance of stakeholder communication, identifying critical assets, and long-term resilience planning. Assumptions about stakeholder availability during holidays may be optimistic.

Recommendations: Update incident response playbooks to account for holiday periods, Enhance monitoring and segmentation between IT and OT systems, Develop crisis communication plans for public reassurance, Regularly test and update cyber crisis plansUpdate incident response playbooks to account for holiday periods, Enhance monitoring and segmentation between IT and OT systems, Develop crisis communication plans for public reassurance, Regularly test and update cyber crisis plansUpdate incident response playbooks to account for holiday periods, Enhance monitoring and segmentation between IT and OT systems, Develop crisis communication plans for public reassurance, Regularly test and update cyber crisis plansUpdate incident response playbooks to account for holiday periods, Enhance monitoring and segmentation between IT and OT systems, Develop crisis communication plans for public reassurance, Regularly test and update cyber crisis plans
Key Lessons Learned: The key lessons learned from past incidents are Importance of stakeholder communication, identifying critical assets, and long-term resilience planning. Assumptions about stakeholder availability during holidays may be optimistic.

Source: CSO Online

Source: Infosecurity Europe

Source: Semperis
Additional Resources: Stakeholders can find additional resources on cybersecurity best practices at and Source: CSO Online, and Source: Infosecurity Europe, and Source: Semperis.

Investigation Status: Simulated exercise (completed)
Communication of Investigation Status: The company communicates the status of incident investigations to stakeholders through Social Media Statements, Press Conferences and Media Outreach.

Stakeholder Advisories: Reassurance statements to public and partners about water supply safety
Customer Advisories: Public statements via social media and press conferences
Advisories Provided: The company provides the following advisories to stakeholders and customers following an incident: were Reassurance statements to public and partners about water supply safety and Public statements via social media and press conferences.

Entry Point: Outdated SCADA systems integrated with IT
High Value Targets: Head Engineer'S Computer, Scada Systems,
Data Sold on Dark Web: Head Engineer'S Computer, Scada Systems,

Root Causes: Outdated Scada Systems, Integrated It/Ot Environment, Lack Of Segmentation,
Corrective Actions: Enhance Monitoring, Improve Network Segmentation, Update Incident Response Plans,
Post-Incident Analysis Process: The company's process for conducting post-incident analysis is described as External incident response specialists, .
Corrective Actions Taken: The company has taken the following corrective actions based on post-incident analysis: Enhance Monitoring, Improve Network Segmentation, Update Incident Response Plans, .
Last Ransom Demanded: The amount of the last ransom demanded was £20 million.
Last Attacking Group: The attacking group in the last incident was an Red team (simulated attackers).
Most Significant Data Compromised: The most significant data compromised in an incident were Customer full name, Address, Customer account number, Payment reference number, Bill and payment dates, Account balance, Payment amount, Bill amount, Meter details, Meter readings, , Sensitive corporate data, emails and customer records.
Most Significant System Affected: The most significant system affected in an incident was SharePointAPI and SCADA systemsIT systemsEndpoints.
Third-Party Assistance in Most Recent Incident: The third-party assistance involved in the most recent incident was External incident response specialists.
Containment Measures in Most Recent Incident: The containment measures taken in the most recent incident were Network segmentation and enhanced monitoring.
Most Sensitive Data Compromised: The most sensitive data compromised in a breach were Customer account number, Address, Bill amount, Sensitive corporate data, emails, customer records, Bill and payment dates, Meter details, Payment amount, Account balance, Payment reference number, Customer full name and Meter readings.
Highest Ransom Demanded: The highest ransom demanded in a ransomware incident was £20 million.
Highest Fine Imposed: The highest fine imposed for a regulatory violation was Potential fines (simulated).
Most Significant Lesson Learned: The most significant lesson learned from past incidents was Importance of stakeholder communication, identifying critical assets, and long-term resilience planning. Assumptions about stakeholder availability during holidays may be optimistic.
Most Significant Recommendation Implemented: The most significant recommendation implemented to improve cybersecurity was Regularly test and update cyber crisis plans, Develop crisis communication plans for public reassurance, Enhance monitoring and segmentation between IT and OT systems and Update incident response playbooks to account for holiday periods.
Most Recent Source: The most recent source of information about an incident are CSO Online, Infosecurity Europe and Semperis.
Current Status of Most Recent Investigation: The current status of the most recent investigation is Simulated exercise (completed).
Most Recent Stakeholder Advisory: The most recent stakeholder advisory issued was Reassurance statements to public and partners about water supply safety, .
Most Recent Customer Advisory: The most recent customer advisory issued was an Public statements via social media and press conferences.
Most Recent Entry Point: The most recent entry point used by an initial access broker was an Outdated SCADA systems integrated with IT.
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The WP Go Maps (formerly WP Google Maps) plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the processBackgroundAction() function in all versions up to, and including, 10.0.04. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to modify global map engine settings.
The Save as PDF Plugin by PDFCrowd plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting via the ‘options’ parameter in all versions up to, and including, 4.5.5 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that execute if they can successfully trick a user into performing an action such as clicking on a link. NOTE: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires that the PDFCrowd API key is blank (also known as "demo mode", which is the default configuration when the plugin is installed) or known.
The Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to incorrect file type validation in the action_import_module() function in all versions up to, and including, 7.8.9.2. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with a lower-privileged role (e.g., Subscriber-level access and above), to upload arbitrary files on the affected site's server which may make remote code execution possible. Successful exploitation requires an admin to grant Hustle module permissions (or module edit access) to the low-privileged user so they can access the Hustle admin page and obtain the required nonce.
The WP Directory Kit plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 1.4.9 via the wdk_public_action AJAX handler. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to extract email addresses for users with Directory Kit-specific user roles.
The Meta-box GalleryMeta plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via admin settings in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.1 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with editor-level permissions and above, to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. This only affects multi-site installations and installations where unfiltered_html has been disabled.

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