Bristol City Council faces 'increased cyber-attack risk'

Computer hackers can take advantage when software comes to the end of its life, it has been claimed

Delays to critical IT updates mean a city council faces an increasing risk of a potential cyber attack, it has been claimed.

Millions will soon be spent on updating IT systems at Bristol City Council, but some of those updates will only be in place after the virus protection has ended for some systems.

End-of-life software is often a key target for cyber attacks.

Gloucester City Council was targeted by hackers linked to Russia in 2021.

Concerns about delays to IT roll out were raised at a Bristol City Council cabinet meeting on 7 February.

'Dire need' of updating

Once the software is eventually rolled out, due by May next year, City Hall managers hope council services will become easier to use, according to the Local Democracy Service (LDRS).

Currently some software is reportedly fiddly, difficult to use and often needs "time-consuming workarounds".

The council cabinet has signed off plans to spend £7.5m and to choose a preferred IT contractor to roll out new systems in the council's housing department.

A new IT supplier will be chosen by the council

Labour Councillor Tom Renhard, cabinet member for housing, said some systems had been "in dire need" of updates for a long time.

"We know that implementing a new IT system can be very challenging and is not without its risks.

"But it will mean a much-improved service," he said.

Software companies often provide maintenance patches to fix newly-found security issues, to prevent hackers from exploiting any vulnerabilities and launching a cyber attack.

But after a while, companies stop supporting old software with patches and bug fixes, and the software reaches the end of its life.

Spelling out the risk facing Bristol City Council, a cabinet report said: "Current housing IT systems will be fully or partially out of manufacturer support in 2024.

"This means that as well as a lack of manufacturer support, they present security vulnerabilities and their ongoing use is not permitted by UK government organisations."

Green councillor David Wilcox claimed council tenants could face a loss of critical services.

Mr Wilcox said: "Services are said to be at end of life and out of support before you're planning to bring the new service online.

"Do you know of any IT project that has been delivered on time and to budget?"

Mr Renhard replied: "I can't say IT is my forté. The cynic in me reckons that we may well overrun, and that's why we have got contingencies in place."

The new IT updates are expected to save the council millions in automating many processes.

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