Sefton Council is fending off more then 30,000 cyber attacks a month as the risk of a security breach soars.
The council has seen 50% more cyber attacks every month a figure in line with a global increase in incidents, according to a new report. While most of the incidents are through phishing scams, there are also 200- 400 “brute force attacks” on the council’s network every month.
The figures were revealed in a report produced ahead of a meeting of Sefton’s audit and governance committee on Wednesday, March 13. While the council has been able to fend off all of the attacks launched at it, new tools have also been put in place to protect the network from future attacks.
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The council commissioned two external reviews of its systems in the past year, both finding the council was broadly in line with others across the country in terms of the security of its IT infrastructure.
These have included assessments by Microsoft and the Local Government Association. In addition, “significant work” has been undertaken to prevent future attacks, including the implementation of new security standards as well as the use of new tools.
A review of training materials has also been carried out, as the report notes staff at the council are the “last line of defence” against cyber attacks.
With measures in place and a service improvement plan moving forward, the report notes, however, that alongside all other local authorities, the risk of cyber-attacks going forward remains a “significant” and ongoing challenge.
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