FOI Request - Council Cyber-Attacks

Request 101003100420 

I am submitting a Freedom Of Information request to ask for the data below on cyber attacks affecting councils.

If you are unable to answer all of the questions below within the limit of hours/expenses incurred as part of FOI legislation, please answer as many as possible, in the order of priority laid out below.

Q1. How many times has your council experienced an attempted cyber-attack over each of the past five years?  For this and all relevant questions below, please provide data broken down into calendar year including 2022 to date, or failing that, by relevant 12-month period (e.g. 2020/21, 2021/22 etc.)
· 2022
· 2021
· 2020
· 2019
· 2018

Q2. Of these attacks, how many resulted in the criminal being able to obtain data or disable systems?
· 2022
· 2021
· 2020
· 2019
· 2018

Q3. Thinking about cyber-attacks where the criminal was able to obtain data or disable systems, how much have these cost your council in each of the past five years? If possible, please include the sum total of monies lost to hackers, legal costs and GDPR fines.
· 2022
· 2021
· 2020
· 2019
· 2018

Q4. What is the most common type of cyber-attack your council has experienced in 2022 so far? (e.g. phishing, DDoS, ransomware, password attack, malware, insider attacks)

Q5. In the last 12 months have you employed an external expert to give you advice on how to mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks? If you have but not in the last 12 months please state when.

Q6. Does your council currently hold a cyber-insurance policy to protect against the consequences of a cyber-attack?

Q7. If so, have you claimed on this policy?

Q8. Have you increased cyber security in the last year to mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks?