Three local councils in the United Kingdom, namely Canterbury, Dover, and Thanet, are facing ongoing disruption to their online services following a cyberattack that occurred a week ago. The attack has led to the disruption of council tax payments and online forms, affecting nearly 500,000 residents in the county of Kent.
Key Takeaway
A cyberattack on UK councils has led to prolonged online disruption, prompting investigations by regulatory authorities and impacting the delivery of critical services to residents.
Investigation and Data Breach Concerns
The councils have initiated a joint investigation into the cyber incident, with questions arising about the potential access to personal data. While initial findings from Canterbury City Council suggest that no customer data was accessed, the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed receiving breach reports from the three councils. The ICO will be conducting further inquiries into the matter.
Connection to East Kent Services (EKS)
The ongoing incident is linked to East Kent Services (EKS), a collaborative service utilized by the three councils for various IT and HR functions. EKS, which was outsourced to Civica in 2018, remains offline, impacting essential services such as payments, benefits, and debt recovery.
Continued Disruption and Impact on Residents
The cyberattack’s repercussions persist, with Canterbury City Council’s payment systems and EKS’ website remaining unavailable. The incident has also affected the Pulse Secure VPN server, potentially linked to the exploitation of critical vulnerabilities in Ivanti’s corporate VPN appliance.
Response from Councils and Service Providers
Canterbury and Thanet councils have limited access to their online systems, while Dover District Council is still grappling with technical difficulties. Civica, the service provider, has emphasized that its systems were unaffected by the attack, reiterating its commitment to providing essential services to the councils.