Northern's newly installed self-service ticket machines have fallen victim to a ransomware attack, forcing the operator to take them offline.
The incident comes two months after the rail operator installed 621 new ticket vending machines across its network, having invested £17 million in the scheme.
A spokesperson for the government-owned train operator confirmed to IT Pro that the incident took place last week, causing “technical difficulties” which “meant all [machines] have had to be taken offline”.
Although an investigation is still underway, the “indications are that the ticket machine service has been subject to a ransomware cyber attack”, they said, adding that they are working with its ticket machine supplier, Flowbird Transport Intelligence to “restore normal operation to our ticket machines as soon as possible”.
No one has claimed responsibility for the incident, and the company hasn't received any ransom notes.
The ransomware attack had “only affected the servers which operate the ticket machines” and hadn’t compromised any customer and payment data”, the spokesperson told IT Pro.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience this incident causes and, in the meantime, are advising customers to either use Northern’s mobile app or website to purchase tickets in advance and, where necessary, to collect those from one of our ticket offices. Of course, those offices can also be used to buy tickets,” they said.
"Customers who have already bought tickets to be collected at a machine, or who would normally use ‘promise to pay’ slips, should board their booked service and either speak to the conductor or to Northern staff at their destination station”.
Commenting on the news, cyber security expert Rick Jones said that the incident is “yet another example of how damaging these attacks are, and a stark reminder that no industry is safe”.
“Ransomware attacks are affecting every facet of society, it isn’t going away and organisations need to get back on the front foot. Northern Rail has likely been identified as a target for hackers as a government-run organisation with critical services and infrastructure. It has provided an excellent opportunity for hackers to cause chaos following newly implemented technology solutions at over 420 stations to the cost of £17 million, and the potential to impact thousands of people,” he added.
Northern has informed its customers about potential difficulties by posting a travel alert concerning the ticket machines to its website.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolen – and security experts say it won't be the lastNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
‘Phishing kits are a force multiplier': Cheap cyber crime kits can be bought on the dark web for less than $25 – and experts warn it’s lowering the barrier of entry for amateur hackersNews Research from NordVPN shows phishing kits are now widely available on the dark web and via messaging apps like Telegram, and are often selling for less than $25.
-
Healthcare systems are rife with exploits — and ransomware gangs have noticedNews Nearly nine-in-ten healthcare organizations have medical devices that are vulnerable to exploits, and ransomware groups are taking notice.
-
Alleged LockBit developer extradited to the USNews A Russian-Israeli man has been extradited to the US amid accusations of being a key LockBit ransomware developer.
-
February was the worst month on record for ransomware attacks – and one threat group had a field dayNews February 2025 was the worst month on record for the number of ransomware attacks, according to new research from Bitdefender.
-
CISA issues warning over Medusa ransomware after 300 victims from critical sectors impactedNews The Medusa ransomware as a Service operation compromised twice as many organizations at the start of 2025 compared to 2024
-
Warning issued over prolific 'Ghost' ransomware groupNews The Ghost ransomware group is known to act fast and exploit vulnerabilities in public-facing appliances
-
The Zservers takedown is another big win for law enforcementNews LockBit has been dealt another blow by law enforcement after Dutch police took 127 of its servers offline
