Council 'at mercy of criminal hackers' - report

Councils nationwide have reported a 50 percent rise in cyber attacks last year

Cyber attacks are becoming a "major threat" to a council, with it now "at the mercy" of criminal gangs and foreign government-backed hacker groups, a report has said.

Halton Council's digital team said the operation and sustainability of the authority was being put at risk.

It is asking the ruling executive board to approve a new £638k cyber defence system this week which would include a new managed detection and response system.

Councils nationwide reported a 50 per cent rise in cyber attacks last year, with Sefton Council saying it was fending off 30,000 cyber attacks a month.

The council’s digital team has weighed up eight possible cloud-based systems and settled on one which will now be used if the board approves.

The report said: “Within Halton Council our technology assets and our data assets live in an ever-changing world where the opportunity for criminal activity is increasing on a daily basis."

'No magic pill'

It added: "In reality at a rate that is starting to become a major threat to the operation and sustainability of the authority.

"We are now at the mercy of many attack vectors from individuals and criminal gangs through to foreign government-backed agencies."

The requested money would cover a five-year period and come from the council’s capital budget, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The contract will include technology, training for staff, as well as access to external expertise.

But the report warned the new system could not guarantee immunity from future attacks.

It said: "Purchasing this contract is not a magic pill and that we would never be subject to any attack.

"But this will considerably mitigate the potential for attack and improve our security stance.”