A mental health charity based in Glasgow has been targeted in a 'sophisticated and criminal cybersecurity attack'.
The Scottish Association of Mental Health, known locally as SAMH, are thought to have been targeted on March 18 by the hackers.
The attack affected the charity's ability to receive and respond to emails across both their national and local service locations.
Some of the charity's national phone lines were also affected.
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Billy Watson, Chief Executive at SAMH, said: “We are devastated by this attack. It is difficult to understand why anyone would deliberately try to disrupt the work of an organisation that is relied on by people at their most vulnerable.
“Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to deliver our vital services. My thanks to our staff team who, under difficult circumstances, are finding ways to keep our support services running to ensure those they support experience as little disruption as possible.
“We are working closely with various agencies including Police Scotland - this is an active investigation.
“We will continue to take the best expert advice to assist us in effectively dealing with this situation.”
The charity's local services are still reachable by phone and they continue to support service users across Scotland but the email inbox is also unavailable.
People are still able to connect to support via the charity's information line on 0344 800 0550.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received report of a cyber incident at a charity in the Glasgow area, which occurred on Thursday, 17 March, 2022.
"Enquires are at an early stage and we are providing support to those affected."
