Nearly a month after a cyberattack, the organisation in the UK responsible for managing criminal records is still experiencing difficulties.
The Acro Criminal Records Office prepares certificates for those looking to work with children or obtain emigration visas in addition to providing records to the police and exchanging them abroad.
On March 21, after the intrusion was discovered, it took both its website and application portal down. Although more staff has been hired to handle email applications, delays still exist.
Although there was no "conclusive evidence" that personal information had been compromised, the probe remained "ongoing".
"Pretty annoying"
Customers reported experiencing lengthy waits on Twitter, and many turned to the Acro Twitter account in the hopes of acquiring their certificates.
John Gilday, who lives in Scotland, told BBC News that after three weeks of waiting, he had finally received his, allowing him to apply for a visa to work in Brazil. His friend, however, had received him considerably sooner.
But Leicester resident Rahim Abdel-illah, who requested that his last name not be used, told BBC News that he was still awaiting his certificate so he could get married in Morocco. He had no clue how long it would take because he was no longer able to check the status of his application.
"It's pretty frustrating and annoying that the police are taking so long to recover from a cyber-attack," he stated.
Previous attacks
A ransomware assault in January caused Royal Mail services to be disrupted and delayed for weeks.
Hackers purportedly based in Russia demanded roughly $70 million (£56 million) to restore computer services, but Royal Mail refused.
Another large corporation, Capita, was the target of a rumoured ransomware attack on March 31 by a different group with ties to Russian cybercriminal networks.
Numerous contracts for public services are held by Capita, including those for:
- the smart metre national telecommunications network
- the certification programme for gas
"We continue to work closely with specialist advisers and forensic experts in investigating the incident. We are in constant contact with all relevant regulators and authorities. Our investigations have not yet been able to confirm any evidence of customer, supplier or colleague data having been compromised. Once our investigations have concluded, we will if necessary inform any impacted parties," a capita official stated.
"We have taken all appropriate steps to ensure the robustness of our systems and are confident in our ability to meet our service-delivery commitments."
Although Capita claims that the majority of client services are still available, the company has not posted an update to its website since 3 April.