A 32-year-old Sage employee has been arrested at London Heathrow Airport in relation to a data breach at the firm.
The woman, who has since been bailed, was arrested by City of London Police on Wednesday at the UK's biggest international airport on suspition of conspiracy to defraud the company.
15/08/2016: Sage's data leak may have revealed 280 companies’ employee data
A data breach at Sage has exposed the details of 280 UK companies, although it's not clear whether the information was just viewed or stolen.
The confidential data reportedly includes payroll information, including bank details of Sage's clients' employees. However, the comapny hasn't said what else may have been seen.
Because of the nature of the breach, the company has drafted in the police to help it investigate how the breach took place, saying it is a distinct possibility an unauthorised person used an internal computer login to break into the system.
Sage said the data was accessed in the last month, but it hasn't yet pinpointed exactly when.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been advised of the breach and will also examine how the data was leaked, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
The ICO said that, depending on the severity of the breach and whether bad practice was at fault, it can take different courses of action including criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement, or it will perform an audit on the company's security procedures.
Although it wouldn’t comment on the specific case, it said: “The law requires organisations to have appropriate measures in place to keep people’s personal data secure. Where there’s a suggestion that hasn’t happened, the ICO can investigate, and enforce if necessary.”
Sage said it is advising its clients and their employees to keep an eye on accounts and alert the necessary authorities if they feel there is a danger.
A Sage spokesperson said: "We are investigating unauthorised access to customer information using an internal login.
"We cannot comment further whilst we work with the authorities to investigate - but our customers remain our first priority and we are speaking directly with those affected."
