Dentists have been the victims of a cyber hack, a trade body has confirmed.

The British Dental Association (BDA) was targeted by a “sophisticated” attack on July 30.

As of Tuesday August 4, their website is still offline following the “cyber incident” and a message on the page reads: “As a precaution, we have taken some of our systems offline, such as our website and telephone servers.

“Our IT team are doing everything they can to get our systems back up and running for you as soon as possible.”

The association’s Twitter account had also been set to private.

A spokesperson for the BDA said they do not yet know what information may have been taken, “however, the evidence now available suggests that the data extracted relates to a very small snapshot of the total data stored on our servers.”

“As a precaution, we informed people about this incident and we will be sending further communications to anyone whose information may have been impacted,” they added

A cyber security expert has said “it remains more important than ever to be cautious” about information stored online.

Jake Moore, cybersecurity specialist at ESET said: “It appears a large spread of personal data has been taken, so it is essential to remain on the lookout for any communication requesting further details which may add pieces to the identity-theft jigsaw.

“Although the BDA have been magnanimous in making those affected aware of the breach quickly and reporting themselves to the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), the problems are far from over.”