Canterbury and Dover city councils say they are investigating cyberattacks carried out against them.
See also: Cyberattacks on “critical infrastructure” are increasing
Thanet District Council said it had received reports of a “potential security incident.” They also said access to parts of website may have been affected by “precautionary measures” taken following the attacks.
The consultants work with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The NCSC defines cyberattack incidents as a breach of a system's security policy under the Computer Misuse Act.
Thanet District Council said it was temporarily restricting access to “a number” of online systems and apologised for the disruption caused to users.
"This is a precautionary decision following reports of a potential security incident," a statement said.
“As we investigate, this precautionary measure may impact some of online services .“
See also: Indian hackers launch cyberattacks in many countries
The cities of Canterbury and Dover issued a statement, saying they were working closely with NCSC experts to investigate the cyberattacks.
"Our email system and website were accessible throughout, although some parts of the site may not function as originally designed," the statement said.
“We apologize for any inconvenience people may have experienced in recent days and will provide you with updates as we receive them.“
Many councils have faced cyberattacks in recent years, including Redcar and Cleveland, which admitted a breach in 2020 cost it more than £7 million.
Last year, Oldham Council was reported to be preventing 10,000 attacks every day.
See also: Oldham Council: 10,000 cyberattacks daily
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Security measures taken to protect against cyberattacks include installing and updating antivirus. This software is designed to detect and remove any malicious software that may enter the system.
Additionally, encryption techniques have been implemented to protect data and information. Encryption is a method that converts data into a code that can only be decrypted with a special key.
Organizations also use firewalls to protect their networks from attacks. Firewalls control incoming and outgoing network traffic and block access from unauthorized sources.
Finally, steps have been taken to train staff on internet security. This includes learning best practices for safe internet use and identifying potential threats.
Source: BBC
