Ransomware (extortion): Architectural and engineering office, United Kingdom 2020
On 21 April 2020, attackers encrypted part of the architectural office’s internal data and demanded a ransom; how much they exfiltrated was unclear.
- Incident · 04.2020 · London, United Kingdom
- Evidence: confirmed by an authority
- Ransomware (extortion)
- Data breach
As of
What happened
The management did not pay, called in specialists and reported the incident to the British data protection authority ICO. Thanks to data backup, the disruption remained minor according to the office.
- Affected
- Zaha Hadid Architects
- Loss
- no reliable figure
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- yes / no
- Data affected
- true
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- not stated in the sources
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
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Costs of getting data, software and systems running again
Mostly covered 6 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Help and negotiation; only some insurers pay the ransom, see note
Mostly add-on 6 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Proceedings before authorities
Costs of FDPIC or GDPR proceedings, usually not fines
Mostly limited 6 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Immediate help in an emergency
Hotline, IT forensics, crisis PR and legal advice
Mostly covered 7 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
With a proper data backup, a planning office can refuse to pay and continue working.
Sources
- Zaha Hadid warns architects to be vigilant after falling prey to cyber attack (opens in a new window) Building · 2020-04-28
«we strongly advise the architectural community to be extremely cautious.»