Redcar council cyber-attack: 90% of systems working

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's systems were hit early in February

A council targeted in a cyber-attack has 90% of its computer systems working again, it has revealed.

Redcar and Cleveland Council was hit by a ransomware attack in 8 February which left its website inoperable and some officials having to use pen and paper to keep services running.

Engineers have prioritised essential systems and are working on the rest.

The attack had not stopped the council responding to coronavirus or providing key services, a spokesman said. 

"Our IT team also responded quickly to ensure that remote working facilities were available for several hundred staff who were deployed to work from home at short notice because of the Covid-19 requirements," he said.

'More sophisticated'

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has been investigating the ransomware attack, where files are scrambled until a ransom is paid to the hackers.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands no ransom has been paid.

The council has previously said there was no indication any private information had been compromised.

But IT experts at the authority said cyber attacks were becoming "more and more sophisticated".

"Our systems have now been rebuilt with enhanced future security in mind," the spokesman said. 

"We have comprehensive 24/7 threat monitoring in place and have received specialist advice from the National Cyber Security Centre and other industry experts during our recovery from the attack."

The authority said it was too early to say how much restoring and rebuilding its IT systems had cost.