Wiltshire Council pays £19,000 after data breach | News

There have been 280 breaches over the past three years – including five cyber attacks

Wiltshire Council has paid £19,000 compensation to residents whose personal data was allowed to leak from its systems since 2021.

This follows 280 such breaches in the past three years.

The council recorded 73 in 2021/22, rising to 103 the following year, and between April 2023 and March 2024, recorded 104 external breaches.

The authority also confirmed that it has paid out a grand total of £19,150 from 2021. In 2021/22, it paid out £9,500, as well as £9,650 the following year.

The council has also suffered five cyber-attacks – where outside individuals or groups either try to break into council systems or simply try to shut down or damage the system.

There was one recorded in 2021/22 and another in 2022/23. So far, between April 2023 and March 2024, three cyber incidents have been recorded.

Councilor Ashley O’Neill, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for governance, said: “Wiltshire Council takes its approach to cyber security and data incidents very seriously.

“Unfortunately, cyber incidents are a reality of our modern society, with the ever-increasing sophistication of the attacks we are all subject to.

“In line with national and international trends, there has been an increase in attacks and incidents and the council is managing these in conjunction with other local authorities, organizations and relevant authorities.

“Our Information Governance and ICT team is dedicated to ensuring that we meet our obligations and responsibilities in keeping the personal and sensitive data of its residents and staff safe.

“Through a combination of rigorous procedures, risk management, rapid responses to incident reporting and increased staff awareness, we strive to ensure that any impact of any cyber attacks and data incidents is minimized as much as possible.”

The revelation follows research by DataBreachClaims.org.uk, which advises claimants seeking compensation for the loss of their data.

Eleanor Coleman, data breach expert at DBC, says: “This increase is worrying and we hope that organizations are making sure they have enough security in place to protect people’s personal information.”

According to the government-appointed Information Commissioner’s Office, cyber attacks on local authority systems increased by 24% between 2022 and 2023.

Personal data breaches reported by local authorities, it confirms, have increased by 58% over the same time period.

Eleanor Coleman added: “We have seen an increase in data breaches across the board over the past year, both in terms of human error and cyber attacks.

“We understand that this is a concern and we hope that organizations are making sure they have enough security in place to protect people’s personal information.”