Data breach concerns ahead of Gloucester cyber attack report

Concerns over personal data breaches are lingering as civic chiefs promise to publish a report on the cyber attack on Gloucester City Council.

Hackers linked to Russia are understood to be responsible for the attack, which disrupted services for thousands of residents last year.

House sales, benefits payments and planning applications were delayed after malware attacked the IT system.

The council has agreed that a public report will be published soon.

Council officers first became aware that their systems had been compromised on 20 December 2021.

It is understood to have got into their computer systems via an email sent to an officer.

The council has had to rebuild all its servers as a result of the attack and the latest estimate suggests the bill to the taxpayer stands at around £845,000.

Councillor Declan Wilson (Liberal Democrat) proposed holding an independent inquiry into the cyber attack as part of budget proposals last year.

This would have explained how the cyber attack happened, how the council managed the issue and how the authority would ensure it is protected in the future, Mr Wilson told a recent meeting at North Warehouse.

"Although this was rejected by the administration, you gave a public commitment that as soon as we had 'moved into the recovery phase of the cyber incident', findings would be shared with members," Mr Wilson said.

Deputy leader Hannah Norman (Conservative) said the council was still recovering, but agreed that a public report on the incident would be published in due course.

She made a commitment to be as transparent as possible about what exactly happened.

"Once we have reached and completed the final elements, we will consult with the National Crime Agency, National Cyber Security Centre and the Information Commissioner's Office to see what can safely be reported publicly," Ms Norman said.

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