Cyber attack recovery could cost council £500,000

The council was targeted by a cyber attack in November

The total cost of restoring systems following a cyber attack could cost the Western Isles local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar £500,000.

A suspected ransomware attack in November caused significant disruption to IT systems at the local authority.

The impact led to some bills, including council tax, being delayed.

Malcolm Burr, the council's chief executive, said progress was being made, however, it could be another six months before things were back to normal.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar said there was no evidence that any data stored on its servers had been published.

Police Scotland, Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland and Scottish government were involved in a criminal investigation in the aftermath of the attack.

Jude McCorry, of Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland, said data breaches could be caused by many factors, and one of the most common causes was cyber attack.

She said: "We’re seeing large-scale data breaches being reported with increasing frequency, and the impact on affected individuals and organisations can be profound.”

Ms McCorry said Scottish organisations requiring support to mitigate the impacts of an attack should call Police Scotland on 101 or the centre's free incident response helpline on 0800 167 0623.

She added: "If you think you are a victim of identity theft please call your bank and also Police Scotland on 101.”