Four London councils hit by cyber attacks - Hackney, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Hammersmith & Fulham

Several London councils are believed to have been targeted in cyber attacks within the past few days, including Hammersmith, who were previously attacked in 2020.

The councils are said to be working with cyber specialists and the National Cyber Security Centre to protect data and restore services and have apologised for the disruption.  The ICO has been notified.

In 2020 Hackney council was hit by a cyber attack that led to criminals gaining access to and encrypting 440,000 files, affecting at least 280,000 residents and other individuals including staff.

The ICO reprimanded the council last year over the incident saying it found 'examples of lack of proper security and processes to protect personal data'.

Further information can be found in the BBC report: Multiple London councils hit by cyber attacks.

Threat actors/attackers don't care what kind of business you are; they look for the easiest way into your systems.  This might be through weak credentials, unpatched systems, weak processes and poor governance.

If you're a school or multi academy trust, you should look to the DfE Digital Standards and remember that KCSIE now has a cyber security requirement: Digital Safeguarding