from Royal Mail.
We’re experiencing disruption to our international export services and are temporarily unable to despatch items to overseas destinations.
Please do not post any export items while we work to resolve the issue.
Sorry for any disruption this may cause.
Source: https://twitter.com/RoyalMail
Sharing here for others in this area, and those outside of this area.
Anything that I am due to send internationally, I will not send until this issue has been resolved.
We’re keeping an eye on the issue, and also keeping our fingers crossed that this hiccup will soon be fixed!
Daily Telegraph is reporting it’s the work of Russian hackers:
A Russia-linked ransomware gang was behind the Royal Mail cyber attack that forced it to suspend international postal deliveries leaving more than half a million parcels and letters stuck in limbo, The Telegraph can disclose.
The attack, which has paralysed the postal service’s ability to send letters and parcels abroad, was carried out by a gang called Lockbit.
Lockbit’s signature ransomware scrambles files on computers and flashes up a message demanding payment in hard-to-trace cryptocurrencies as the price for unscrambling them again.
Royal Mail declined to comment. The company said on Wednesday: “We have asked customers temporarily to stop submitting any export items into the network while we work hard to resolve the issue”.
The National Cyber Security Centre, a branch of GCHQ, is helping Royal Mail clean up and remove the malicious software. The National Crime Agency is also investigating. Both agencies have been contacted for comment.
Lockbit’s members are thought to have close links to Russia.
The gang is thought to have extorted around $100m (£82m) from its victims and previously targeted car dealership chain Pendragon as well as children’s hospitals.
A Lockbit member said in an online chat: “We benefit from the hostile attitude of the West (towards Russia). It allows us to do conduct such an aggressive business and operate freely within the borders of the former Soviet (CIS) countries.”
Sources said the attack had knocked out all of Royal Mail’s ability to process outbound international post.
Lockbit’s ransomware, known as Lockbit Black, scrambled software on Royal Mail machines used for printing vital customs dockets that are attached to parcels going overseas.
The ransom note, seen by The Telegraph, says: “Lockbit Black Ransomware. Your data are stolen and encrypted.”
Gang members also threaten to publish stolen data on a dark web site maintained by Lockbit.
“You can contact us and decrypt one file for free,” the note continues.
Royal Mail said domestic post was not affected by the ransomware attack. It declined to comment on whether it had contacted the attackers.
On the plus side, as you may have seen Royal Mail advise inbound international post only experiencing minor effects.
Indeed, this seemed to be the trend before the attack yesterday, for the past 6 weeks or so I’ve received items from abroad (including my postcrossing cards…) quicker than things sent from the other side of my city…
Thank you for keeping a eye on us @meiadeleite.
I was just wondering how long we should let this go on before we asked to be suspended!
The effect on incoming mail seems to be reduced but I know that some of our European neighbours expect delivery to most of UK in days (Netherlands and Germany especially).
I’ve seen the new banner when I try to draw an address… can the system not be set so when we try to draw an address it automatically assigns us a UK/IOM/CI address for those of us that have “send mail in our own country” set in our profiles?
Just that way we are not completely excluded…
That sounds like an excelllent idea !!! Would it be possible??
I currently have 2 cards still to mail to foreign destinations, I drew the addresses yesterday in the expectation that the matter would be resolved fairly soon (no banner in place then) - unfortunately it now looks like I need to hang on to them for a while. 
@piscean that is a shame!
Hopefully this won’t last too much longer.
I got a storage box today, to put outgoing post into. Just so that they won’t get lost. Penpal letters etc.
Royal Mail has lifted the suspension of some overseas post. Letters without customs declarations can be sent. Though they are still asking for no parcels to be sent.
Source: Service Updates from Royal Mail today
A few days late sharing this, but good news, all the same