Lib Dems demand action to ensure cyber attack is not repeated a year on
The hack has already cost the council £787,000 and there are fears the final bill could top £1 million.
21 Dec 2022
City residents’ personal data put at risk from cyber attack, council admits
7 Jun 2023
The Liberal Democrats are demanding answers from Tory bosses over the costly cyber attack on Gloucester City Council that has seen the personal data of residents put at risk.
Benefit payments, planning applications and house sales were all delayed after hackers compromised the council’s IT systems in December 2021 – the second time in a decade.
The authority has had to rebuild all of its servers after the malware was able to access the council's computer software and cause havoc.
The hack has already cost the council £787,000 and there are fears the final bill could top £1 million.
And now the council has admitted that some personal data of residents in the city may have been stolen by the hackers.
Councillor Jeremy Hilton, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said: “I was shocked to hear the news today that the personal data of many citizens was compromised by the December 2021 cyber attack.
“Especially so, as the city council Conservative administration had refused to confirm or deny that personal data had been captured by the hackers.
“Now 18 months later the council cabinet member and managing director have finally confirmed that many Gloucester residents had their personal data stolen by these cyber criminals.
“The council leadership has many questions to answer.
“Have they for example known that personal information was compromised from day one and why didn’t they tell the public straight away?”
The council said it had worked with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, as well as informing the Information Commissioner’s Office to minimise any further risks.
It said that while some information the city council holds about residents may have been accessed during the cyber incident, to date nothing taken has been published online.
Based on advice from law enforcement agencies, it is now unlikely that it will be, the council said.
Earlier this year, the Government sanctioned seven individuals associated with the criminal group thought to be involved in this incident.
They were also behind attacks on several other organisations including hospitals, schools, businesses and other local authorities.
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