While Bury and Salford councils confirmed brief interruptions to their websites, the services have since been restored. During the outage, residents were still able to access services in person and over the phone. Trafford and Tameside councils have yet to comment on the incident.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) intervened, offering guidance to help affected councils bolster their defenses. A spokesperson from the NCSC noted that while DDoS attacks are generally low in complexity, they can disrupt access to online services by overwhelming websites with fake traffic.
This recent attack follows a phishing scam in August, which affected housing websites for Manchester, Salford, and Bolton. That incident saw thousands of users receive emails attempting to extract personal data. In response, local councils advised residents to monitor their bank accounts and update any passwords used on the housing registry. Salford’s housing portal, Salford Home Search, was down for weeks following the attack but has since been restored.
Locata, the software provider for many council housing services, has apologized for the inconvenience and confirmed it is working with third-party experts to address vulnerabilities. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) also reviewed the August breach, providing data protection advice to Salford and Bolton councils before closing the case.
Source: Bury Times
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