Hackers leak Hackney Council data after attack
The cyber group that launched a ransomware attack on Hackney Council last year has posted what it claims to be documents from the council.
Last October the council said it had been hit by a “serious cyber-attack” affecting its IT systems. Today Hackney said it appears the vast majority of the sensitive or personal information is unaffected.
“While we believe this publication will not directly affect the vast majority of Hackney’s residents and businesses, that can feel like cold comfort, and we are sorry for the worry and upset this will cause them,” the Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville said.
The council is working with the National Security Centre, National Crime Agency, ICO and the Police to investigate the published material and “take immediate action where necessary”.
“I fully understand and share the concern of residents and staff about any risk to their personal data, and we are working as quickly as possible with our partners to assess the data and take action, including informing people who are affected,” Glanville added.
There are concerns that the leak of this data could lead to subsequent attacks. “Unfortunate victims that are affected by the Hackney Council breach will want to stay aware of phihing attempts by the bad guys that downloaded the breached data,” said Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy.
“The bad actors will surely send targeted phishing emails and texts in an effort to leverage the data included in the breach to gain more personal information from the victims.”