2022 has already been a very stressful year for several leading umbrella companies that have been subjected to malicious cyber threats, including Brookson and Parasol. Now, it appears another leading umbrella company and contractor accountant has been targeted by cybercriminals – Nixon Williams. We’ve found an update on the Nixon Williams website about what’s happened, and we’ve shared it in this article. Keep reading for more information.
There is no hiding from the facts – umbrella companies and contractor accountancy providers are being targeted by cybercriminals
Last year, a leading UK-based umbrella company, Giant Pay was targeted by a suspected ransomware cyber security attack. Consequently, hundreds of contractors were left without pay because the umbrella shut down all internal systems as part of the investigation into what had happened.
Sadly, the incident at Giant Pay seems to have been the start of a flurry of similar attacks on well-known umbrella companies and contractor accountants. We have already reported on cyber-attacks at Brookson and Parasol. Now, it appears Nixon Williams has been targeted too.
The Nixon Williams investigation may “take a number of weeks”
When you try to access Nixon Williams Vantage login page (online accountancy software), the following message appears (posted on 18th January at 08:11):
“Nixon Williams has recently suffered a cyber security incident that impacted some of our key systems and caused significant disruption to our services. As soon as we identified the issue, we immediately took action to mitigate its impact with the support of external IT security specialists and are working round the clock to minimise disruption to our services and resume normal operations.
While we are still in the early stages of our investigations, based on our current understanding of the incident there is no evidence that personal data has been removed from our system. We will provide an update on our investigation when we have more information to share, but we have been informed by our external advisors that this could take a number of weeks.
In the meantime, to ensure the safety and integrity of your data, we have suspended our systems and you will be unable to access Nixon Williams Vantage.
– You can connect with us via LiveChat by clicking the speech bubble at the bottom left of this screen
– You can call or email your accountant directly or you can call our main line on 01253 362000 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday – if we are unable to answer your call immediately, you will receive a call back the same day.”
The Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) has released a statement regarding the recent cyber-attacks on its members. Part of the statement reads:
“Whilst there are current attacks underway, there is, naturally, a focus on resolving what are major system outages as soon as possible and striving to minimise the impact on employees expecting payments or having queries go unanswered. In our view it is crucial that workers are kept informed of progress.”
Contractors have taken to Twitter to share their concerns about the cyber incident at Nixon Williams
One Twitter user questioned why Nixon Williams took so long to contact umbrella employees about the cyber security incident. Brian Griffin sent the following to Nixon Williams:
“Shouldn’t you have sent a message to your customers explaining why Vantage is down and when it’s likely to be available again? I’m getting a little worried right now with the lack of communication.”
@nixon_williams Shouldn’t you have sent a message to your customers explaining why Vantage is down and when it’s likely to be available again? I’m getting a little worried right now with the lack of communication.
— Brian Griffin (@BeejGriffin) January 14, 2022
Another user confirmed she was “worried” by the lack of communication from the umbrella company. Molly Chesney said in a Tweet:
“I’ve tried ringing so many different numbers and none are being answered. I am starting to get very worried – no communications, no access to the system, no answer, no idea when return to normal will be.”
I’ve tried ringing so many different numbers and none are being answered. I am starting to get very worried – no communications, no access to the system, no answer, no idea when return to normal will be.
— Molly Chesney (@MollyChesney) January 14, 2022
The Nixon Williams social media team have replied to many concerns asking users to send them a direct message (DM) with their concerns. Therefore, if you’re a Nixon Williams client who is struggling to contact them, using Twitter might be a suitable method of starting a conversation.
Wishing everyone at Nixon Williams and all umbrella employees the very best during this stressful time
Our thoughts are with everyone at Nixon Williams – staff and all clients. Hopefully, the situation will be resolved shortly.
If you represent Nixon Williams or are an active client, please share your comments below.
Top 10 umbrella companies
The team at umbrellacompanies.org.uk has put a list of our top 10 umbrella companies together and we recommend you have a look. All of our top 10 are accredited by either the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) or Professional Passport, and some have special offers at the moment.
