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In 2024, Transport for London (TfL) experienced a major cyber-attack that led to the theft of personal data belonging to approximately 10 million individuals, marking it as one of the largest breaches in the history of the UK. Initially, TfL only acknowledged that “some” customers were impacted, but subsequent investigations have revealed the scale of the incident was far greater. The hack was executed by the criminal group known as Scattered Spider, which infiltrated TfL’s internal systems, disrupted online services, and resulted in estimated damages totaling £39 million.
The breach did not directly affect the physical operations of London’s transport network but caused significant outages across TfL’s digital platforms, including information boards and online services. The attackers extracted a comprehensive database containing customer information. After obtaining a copy of this database, the BBC was able to confirm the extensive scope, which included names, email addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses linked to millions of TfL users. The database reportedly contained nearly 15 million lines of data, though duplicates were present.
TfL conducted a detailed inquiry into the breach but has been reluctant to release an exact figure of affected customers. What has been disclosed is that the organization sent email notifications to over seven million customers who had registered an email address with their TfL account. However, only 58% of those recipients opened the messages, meaning a significant number of people potentially remain unaware of the incident. For individuals without a registered email address, the lack of direct communication raises concerns about the full reach of the notification efforts. Despite the breach, experts assess the immediate risk to individual users as low, though they warn that stolen information could increase vulnerability to scams and fraud over time.
TfL has also indicated it identified approximately 5,000 customers at increased risk because their Oyster card refund details, including sensitive financial data such as bank account numbers and sort codes, could have been accessed. These customers were contacted individually by email and post as a precaution. Though TfL publicized the potential exposure of customer names and contact details, there remains a wider discussion about how much companies in the UK disclose after such breaches. Internationally, some firms, like telecom provider Odido in the Netherlands and e-commerce company Coupang in South Korea, have been more transparent about the number of customers affected by cyber-attacks, with some even offering compensation. In contrast, UK companies are not legally required to disclose the full extent of data breaches, a stance that some cyber security experts argue hinders efforts to combat cybercrime effectively.
Experts emphasize the importance of transparency following data breaches. Data protection consultant Carl Gottleib highlights that informing individuals about what happened to their data and the associated risks is critical, while security researcher Kevin Beaumont describes public notification of breach scale as a fundamental aspect of transparency. Beaumont also calls for changes in UK regulations to better protect victims of data theft. Regarding TfL’s case, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) investigated the breach and the response thoroughly but ultimately decided in February 2025 that no formal regulatory action was warranted. The ICO stated it was kept fully informed and that TfL’s measures, including victim notification, were appropriate. However, the regulator noted that TfL must report any new information that may change the risk profile or indicate harm to individuals
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