One Weak Password Took Down a 158‑Year‑Old Logistics Company - Lineal IT Support

A startling cyber security breach has shut down KNP Logistics Group, trading under the historic Knights of Old brand – a firm with 158 years of heritage. The company, based in Northamptonshire, collapsed after cyber‑attackers from the Akira ransomware gang infiltrated its systems by guessing a single weak employee password.

What Happened?

KNP operated a fleet of roughly 500 lorries, supporting over 700 employees across multiple sites.
Attackers penetrated KNP’s IT infrastructure using a weak password, encrypted all critical systems and data, and locked staff out of essential business operations.
A ransom note claimed: “If you’re reading this … your company’s infrastructure is fully or partially dead”, demanding up to £5 million, a sum beyond KNP’s means.
Despite holding cyber-attack insurance and supposedly complying with industry IT standards, KNP was unfortunately not able to recover. All backups, endpoints, and the disaster recovery environment were compromised, rendering recovery impossible.
Within months, the company entered administration; the majority of the workforce was made redundant. Only a small portion of the business was salvaged via asset sale.

KNP’s Director, Paul Abbott, revealed he has not informed the employee whose password was compromised – a sensitive issue he posed to staff members: “Would you want to know if it was you?”.

Why This Matters to Lineal Clients

A single weak password caused catastrophic failure – even companies with long-standing reputations and cyber insurance are vulnerable.
Basic cybersecurity hygiene matters: password strength, multi-factor authentication (MFA), segregated credentials, regular training, and tested offline backups are essential.
Insurance is no safeguard without strong internal controls: KNP had insurance, but its inability to respond to a full-system compromise rendered it ineffective. Furthermore, insurance companies are becoming increasingly less likely to pay out for cybercrimes.

How We Can Help

Lineal provides a range of comprehensive cyber security packages to keep your business safe at all times.
We offer cyber security advice, guidance and support, as well as managed data backup plans to ensure your business data is secure.
Our team of Cyber Security Experts is always on hand to answer any of your queries, questions or concerns.

Broader UK Cyber Risk Landscape

This is not an isolated incident. Other high-profile UK businesses, such as M&S, Co-op, and Harrods, have recently suffered cyber incidents, with Co-op confirming a compromise of 6.5 million member records.

The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) reports a doubling in serious ransomware cases to around 35-40 per week, with 2025 on track to be the worst year yet for such attacks.
Similarly, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is calling for urgent reforms, including mandatory cyber audits, stronger defences, and smarter incident reporting protocols.

Key Lessons for Businesses

Threat Factor	Mitigation Strategy
Weak or reused passwords	Enforce unique passwords & passphrases, passwordless authentication, password managers
Lack of multifactor authentication (MFA)	Implement MFA across all systems
Insufficient backup strategy	Maintain air‑gapped, regularly tested backups
Insurance gaps	Match policy limits to risk, ensure insurer audit requirements are satisfied
Human error	Conduct regular staff training and phishing simulations

Protecting Your Business with Lineal

At Lineal, we help SMEs build resilient cyber‑posture through layered defence strategies. From assessing password security and deploying MFA to designing robust off-site backup plans and aligning insurance with real-world exposure, Lineal offers: