Gloucester City Council sets up hotline to advise residents concerned over cyber attack

A dedicated hotline has been set up in Gloucester to advise residents who may be concerned their personal data may have been accessed by Russian hackers.

Gloucester City Council’s IT systems were targeted by cyber criminals in December 2021.

And some information containing personal details of members of the public held by the authority was taken in a sophisticated cyber-attack by a cyber-criminal group.

City council chiefs say they would like to reassure residents that to date none of the information taken has been published online and, based on advice received from law enforcement agencies, they believe that it is now unlikely that it will be.

In February 2023, the UK Government took action against individuals connected with the criminal gang suspected of carrying out this attack.

As a purely precautionary measure, they say anyone who used city council services can take the following steps, that are good practice in protecting against scams, fraud and cyber-crime:

• If you spot any unusual transactions on statements inform your bank, building society and credit card company
• Request a copy of credit files to check for any credit applications.
• Report suspicious credit applications to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime online www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040

People can also apply for protective registration with CIFAS (the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service) which ensures extra checks are carried out on any applications for financial services. Apply online at www.cifas.org.uk or call  0330 460 9601.

A council spokesperson said: “This is a notification of the conclusion of the cyber-attack that took place in December 2021 and not a separate or new incident.

“We would like to further reassure you that the National Crime Agency continues to monitor the activities of cyber-criminals and if we are made aware that any of the information taken during this incident is published online in the future, we will contact those affected.

“We are very sorry for any inconvenience and concern this may cause. The council’s data protection officer is Tanya Davies.”

For more information, please see the FAQ section of the council’s web page or contact the dedicated team on 01452 396396 (press *) or email

By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter

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