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Russian hackers have targeted a company where the glamour couple of lower league professional football, John and Carolyn Radford, are directors.
The millionaire Radfords are best known for their romance and partnership at Mansfield Town FC, where John, 55, the chairman, married his chief executive officer, Carolyn, 38, in 2012.
But the pair are also directors and John is the CEO at One Call Insurance Services Limited, a sponsor of League Two Mansfield Town, which has attracted the attention of the Eastern-Europe-based cybercrime group, Darkside.
A staff member at the Doncaster-based firm has told the local paper that the hackers demanded £15 million, a claim disputed by One Call, which says it is yet to receive a demand.
Carolyn and John Radford are co-chairmen of Mansfield Town and directors of One Call
Carolyn became the youngest CEO of an English Football League club at Mansfield, aged 29
The company, which had a turnover of £54 million in 2019 and recorded year-on-year growth of 26 per cent, has said it has experienced a ‘cyber security incident’ and ‘IT forensics specialists’ are investigating whether data has been stolen.
Darkside was believed to be behind the raid on a US oil pipeline last month, which disrupted supplies across America and resulted in the operating company, Colonial Pipeline, paying out almost £4 million to regain control of its systems, according to US media.
And it appears the ransomware group has now turned its attentions to One Call, based in a business park on the southern outskirts of Doncaster, where it employs 440 people.
Carolyn at home in Nottinghamshire. The mum-of-threeoversaw the renovation of a 10-bedroom mansion in the heart of England where the family of five now live
In a statement issued to Mail Online, One Call said: ‘On May 13th we began experiencing some disruption to our IT systems and immediately hired a dedicated team of IT forensic specialists to help restore our systems and investigate what happened.
‘We prioritised the restoration of our customer services systems in an entirely new and secure environment, meaning that all existing customers are receiving the normal support. The specialists confirmed that the disruption was the result of a ransomware attack, from a criminal organisation who are under investigation by the authorities.
‘Our IT forensic specialists have launched an extensive investigation to assess the full scope of the incident. This investigation is at early stages, and therefore there are still many unknowns including whether any data was impacted in the incident. We have already notified the Information Commissioner’s Office and other regulators as a precautionary measure, and we will of course be complying with our regulatory requirements as we continue to respond to this incident.
Carolyn and husband John enjoy a spot of football in their family home. Originally comprising 17 bedrooms, it now houses 10 smaller bedrooms as well as an indoor pool and gym
‘We apologise for the temporary disruption and any frustration caused.’
In a statement for customers, on its website, One Call said: ‘Has any of your data been impacted? This is something that the IT experts are investigating. At this stage, we can’t say more as there is an ongoing investigation.’
This morning One Call informed customers via Facebook that access to its portal, which it uses to process claims had been restored. Staff had been assisting customers using the company’s live online chat facility.
The Radfords, who are among 13 directors at One Call, were married in 2012 and now live in a luxurious 10-bedroom mansion, Barnby Moor Hall in Nottinghamshire.
John Radford, who is the chief executive of One Call, caused a stir when he appointed Carolyn to be the youngest CEO in the English Football League, aged just 29, in 2011. He followed that up with a marriage proposal just two weeks later.
Carolyn is pictured in her 10-bedroom Nottinghamshire mansion Barnby Moor Hall, where she lives with her husband John, son Hugo and twins Rupert and Albert, on a 26-acre estate
Both decisions have proved successful.
Carolyn, who has a politics degree from Durham University and a Masters in Professional Legal Practice, is still at the helm at Mansfield’s One Call Stadium a decade later, where she is now co-chairman with her husband, as well as a director at the insurance company.
In the early years of her 10-year tenure, Mansfield made it out of the Conference and into League Two, where they have remained, finishing 16th this season.
Radford became CEO at Mansfield Town in 2011 and is now co-chairman with husband, John
Carolyn has been at the helm of Mansfield Town for 10 years – the club plays in League Two
In addition, the wealthy pair have three children under eight, Hugo and the twins Rupert and Albert and the family of five live on a 26-acre estate.
While the company’s statement on the cyber-attack gave few details of the incident, the Doncaster Free Press has seen screen grabs, reportedly from company computers. The paper has reported that the ransom demand was for £15 million, but a One Call spokeswoman told Mail Online that the company has no knowledge of that figure and has not received a ransom demand from those responsible.
According to the local paper, the hackers are understood to have sent a message to staff computers announcing: ‘Welcome to the Darkside’ and demanding cash in return for the restoration of the firm’s database.
Mansfield attracted criticism from fans for a glamorous video it produced of Carolyn meeting new signing Nicky Maynard. The video was circulated on Twitter
One staff member, who declined to be named, told the Free Press: ‘A message appeared on the screen from the hackers stating if they do not receive £15 million, the data they have will be made public.’
Mansfield Town finished 16th in League Two
In its annual report, filed at Companies House in January this year, One Call identified cyber-attacks an area of risk for the company given that is does much of its business online.
Darkside is believed to operate from Russia and is thought to have targeted enterprises in at least 10 countries, but mostly in the United States.
It is said to avoid certain geographical locations, including former Soviet Union countries, as well as sectors such as healthcare, schools and not-for-profit groups.
The cyber-attack is now under investigation. A spokesman for the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, made up of officers from a number of police forces, told the Free Press: ‘We have been made aware of a cyber incident affecting Doncaster-based firm One Call Insurance and are working with the firm to investigate it.’
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