Concerns over data breaches as council promises public cyber attack report

Concerns linger over personal data breaches as civic chiefs promise to publish a public report on the cyber attack on Gloucester City Council.

Hackers linked to Russia are understood to be responsible for the attack which paralysed the authority and disrupted services for thousands of residents last year.

House sales, benefit payments and planning applications were all delayed and councillors were blocked from emailing other organisations.

This was after council officers first became aware that their systems had been compromised on December 20, 2021.

Malware, which is software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to a computer, had made it onto the council’s IT systems.

It is understood to have got into their computer systems via an email sent to an officer.

The council has had to rebuild all of its servers as a result of the attack and the latest estimate suggests the bill to the taxpayer stands at around £845,000.

And opposition councillors have been calling on the authority to publish a public report on the cyber attack.

Councillor Declan Wilson (LD, Hucclecote) said the Liberal Democrats proposed holding an independent inquiry into the cyber attack as part of budget proposals last year.

This would have explained how the cyber attack happened, how the council managed the issue and how the authority will ensure it is protected in the future, Cllr Wilson told a recent meeting at North Warehouse.

“Although this was rejected by the administration, you gave a public commitment that as soon as we had ‘moved into the recovery phase of the cyber incident, findings would be shared with members’. When is this likely to happen and will the findings be shared with the public?”

Deputy leader Hannah Norman (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) said the council is still recovering but agreed that a public report on the incident would be published in due course. She made a commitment to be as transparent as possible about what exactly happened.

“Once we have reached and completed the final elements, we will consult with the National Crime Agency, National Cyber Security Centre and the Information Commissioner’s Office to see what can safely be reported publicly.

“As previously agreed, I will bring a report to a future overview and scrutiny committee once these final elements have been completed.

“I can give you the assurance that it’s the belief of the administration that we will put as much information as we possibly can into the public domain.”

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk