Hackney Council Criticized for 2020 Cyber Attack Response

Watchdog finds security lapses led to severe data breach affecting 280,000 residents and prolonged service disruptions.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) reprimanded Hackney Council for failing to implement adequate security measures.
Hackers accessed and encrypted 440,000 files, including sensitive personal data, and deleted 10% of the borough's backups.
The attack disrupted council services for months, with some systems not fully operational until 2022.
Hackney Council disputes the ICO's findings but will not challenge the decision, focusing instead on improving data security.
The ICO emphasized the need for councils to update systems and prevent human errors to protect residents' data.