IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM ESE CONCERNING A CYBER INCIDENT

April 2024

This is an important communication from ESE about a recent cyber attack affecting our IT systems. The attack affected our systems in Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Our highest priority has been, and continues to be, to protect the interests of all individuals affected by this incident.

This notice is addressed to individuals who ESE has established meet the threshold to receive a specific notification under data protection legislation but who ESE might not be able to provide a notification to because it does not have accurate and/or sufficient contact details (Notifiable Individuals).

In this context, this notice gives details of potentially affected personal data, and steps which potentially Notifiable Individuals can take to protect themselves.

Notifiable Individuals include current and former ESE employees, ESE job applicants, current and former ESE interns in France, current and former contractors to ESE in the Netherlands and in certain instances, temporary workers in France and other individuals who have had dealings with our ESE site in France including staff members of ESE customers and suppliers who have interacted with our site in France.

You should read this communication if you fall within any of these groups and have not yet been informed by other means. You might have already received a communication from us, for example, if you are a current employee.

We have determined that, with the exception of the categories of Notifiable Individuals set out above, it is unlikely for other groups of affected individuals to meet the notification threshold at this time.

The personal data that may have been compromised varies according to country, so if you are a Notifiable Individual, please use the tabs below to select the country in which you live.

What Happened:
ESE identified that during January 2024, our computer systems were subject to a cyber attack. As soon as we became aware of the attack, we shut down the affected parts of our network and a specialist security firm was engaged to assist with an investigation into the incident.

Our Response:
After taking immediate steps to close down access to our systems and contain the incident, we worked with the specialist security firm to investigate the incident, remediate our systems and implement additional security measures.

What Potentially Affected Individuals Can Do:
We recommend remaining vigilant and taking the steps below to protect yourself against potential risks resulting from this incident.

• Do not respond to suspicious emails, click on links within them or open any attachments, and do not provide any personal data or other information that the senders may be requesting.
• Reset your passwords for online accounts, using strong, unique passwords for each account.
• Ensure reputable virus and anti-malware software is installed on any computers or other devices and software is kept up to date.
• Make sure the privacy safeguards on devices and social media accounts are enabled, and remain so.
• Regularly review and monitor all account statements and credit history to guard against any unauthorised transactions or activity.
• Contact banks or other financial services providers immediately if any suspicious or unusual activity materialises on online accounts.
• Do not save login/financial credentials in browsers and keep credentials in a secure location.
• Be careful about responding to any mail or email with suspicious, menacing or “too good to be true” offers.
• Be careful about information posted online and restrict access to personal details on social media.
• Do not access online banking or other sensitive information from public or shared network computers.
• Use only secure networks to conduct work or other important or sensitive transactions.

We also recommend vigilance for any unwanted phone calls or messages on online platforms: do not provide personal information to anyone that is not known or trusted.

We deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause you. Thank you for your understanding.

>> FRANCE (pdf)
>> GERMANY (pdf)
>> NETHERLANDS (pdf)
>> UNITED KINGDOM (pdf)
>> BELGIUM (pdf)