Data_security

Gloucester council pay £380k for cyber-attack repairs

A cyber-attack has forced council leaders to set aside £380,000 to help restore IT systems.

Gloucester City Council discovered its systems had been breached in December and the attack has since been linked to hackers in Russia.

Several aspects of online revenue and benefits, planning, and customer service were impacted by the attack.

In an effort to learn more about the breach, council chiefs have been working with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre.

In addition to the £380,000 set aside for cyber recovery, council leaders are believed to be in discussions with the government about additional financial support.

Hackney London Borough Council was hit with a separate cyberattack in 2020, costing around £10m, and opposition councillors fear that the total cost for Gloucester may also be in the millions.

Liberal Democrat councillor Declan Wilson asked a cabinet meeting if the funds put aside by the council would be enough.

“In recent times, other local authorities such as Hackney and Redcar have also suffered cyberattacks but have incurred significantly greater recovery costs than this.”

“Are you confident this reserve is sufficient and the city council is not being exposed to the risk of having to deal with costs it can’t afford?”

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