Sage hit by data breach

Sage was in the red on Monday after the software company said an internal login had been used to gain access to some of its British customers’ data.

The firm has informed the City of London police of the breach.

In a statement on its website, Sage said: “We believe there has been some unauthorised access using an internal login to the data of a small number of our UK customers so we are working closely with the authorities to investigate the situation.

“Our customers are always our first priority so we are communicating directly with those who may be affected and giving guidance on measures they can take to protect their security.”

The Financial Times cited a person familiar with the matter as saying that a Sage employee’s internal login details were used to gain access to protected data in recent weeks, prompting an investigation by the company.

The person said that a "maximum of between 200 and 300 companies” may have been affected by the breach.

At 0855 BST, Sage shares were down 2.6% to 720.50p.