Cyber attacks remain a 'constant threat' at Sheffield Council

Security remains ‘a constant threat’ and officers have worked with central government experts on areas of weakness.

Director Mike Weston says: “Security experts consider it’s impossible to mitigate all cyber security threats and it is a case of when, rather than if, the council is hit by a cyber attack.

“This means the council’s approach must be to minimise the chances of a successful attack and be prepared to recover from any such an attack.”

The council moved from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and this considerably improved its cyber security.

Other protections include a significant investment in Microsoft technology to reduce the threats associated with email and to protect Windows 10 devices.

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The report adds: “Although the technical protection in place has improved, the council must be prepared to respond to any cyber security issue when it arises, and a potential ransomware issue is of particular concern.

“To reduce the likely impact, the council has made a significant investment in new backup technology in line with guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre and migration to the new system is currently in progress.

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“The council has worked with third party providers and central government security experts to assess ongoing areas of weakness.”

Staff working from home has been particularly challenging from a security point of view but the council says bringing its ICT contract back in-house from Capita has helped.