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The department does not exclude the possibility that the personal information of citizens could be compromised.
The administration of the English city of Gloucester has been unable to fully restore its services for six months after a large-scale cyber attack.
According to local publication GloucestershireLive, on December 20, 2021, city administration employees discovered that their computer systems had been hacked. As a result, important services were unavailable to Gloucester residents for a long time. In particular, they had to postpone transactions for the purchase and sale of housing, obtaining building permits and receiving pension payments.
It is reported that malware got into the city administration network through a phishing email received by one of the employees. The letter was allegedly sent by hackers from Russia, but the department itself does not comment on this information, referring to the fact that the investigation has not yet been completed.
During the attack, most of the files of the city administration were encrypted, and IT specialists had to reconfigure all servers. Until recently, the agency was unable to process requests for land needed by buyers to make a purchase. People who have been trying to move in the past six months have complained of "total uncertainty" and some have feared mortgage offers will be cancelled.
The city administration allocated £630,000 for restoration work, but opposition representatives fear that the total damage could be in the millions. In their opinion, the city administration should have taken care of insurance in case of cyber attacks in advance.
Another issue that worries the public is whether hackers got access to the personal data of city residents. The department does not exclude the possibility that the personal information of citizens could be compromised.
According to the head of the city administration Richard Cook (Richard Cook), work on the restoration of systems is already approaching the end, but he finds it difficult to give an exact date.
“Shutting down systems for six months is too long. We know that this caused a lot of problems […] I know our specialists are doing everything possible to restore everything as soon as possible. It all depends on how the test goes. I can’t give an exact date, I’m not a psychic, ”said Cook.
The administration of the English city of Gloucester has been unable to fully restore its services for six months after a large-scale cyber attack.
According to local publication GloucestershireLive, on December 20, 2021, city administration employees discovered that their computer systems had been hacked. As a result, important services were unavailable to Gloucester residents for a long time. In particular, they had to postpone transactions for the purchase and sale of housing, obtaining building permits and receiving pension payments.
It is reported that malware got into the city administration network through a phishing email received by one of the employees. The letter was allegedly sent by hackers from Russia, but the department itself does not comment on this information, referring to the fact that the investigation has not yet been completed.
During the attack, most of the files of the city administration were encrypted, and IT specialists had to reconfigure all servers. Until recently, the agency was unable to process requests for land needed by buyers to make a purchase. People who have been trying to move in the past six months have complained of "total uncertainty" and some have feared mortgage offers will be cancelled.
The city administration allocated £630,000 for restoration work, but opposition representatives fear that the total damage could be in the millions. In their opinion, the city administration should have taken care of insurance in case of cyber attacks in advance.
Another issue that worries the public is whether hackers got access to the personal data of city residents. The department does not exclude the possibility that the personal information of citizens could be compromised.
According to the head of the city administration Richard Cook (Richard Cook), work on the restoration of systems is already approaching the end, but he finds it difficult to give an exact date.
“Shutting down systems for six months is too long. We know that this caused a lot of problems […] I know our specialists are doing everything possible to restore everything as soon as possible. It all depends on how the test goes. I can’t give an exact date, I’m not a psychic, ”said Cook.