THE WHAT? Boots is among the British firms affected by a data breach at payroll provider Zellis, exposing personal data of employees, according to a report published by Reuters.

THE DETAILS The breach took place as data was transferred from Zellis to the companies involved via the MOVEit file transfer platform. The company declined to reveal how many employees were affected when contacted by Reuters.

THE WHY? Reuters received an email from the group of online extortionists responsible for the Cl0p ransomware site taking credit for the hack and threatening to publish details of those who refused to pay on its website.