The LGA has produced new resources to help councillors with cyber security
Understanding cyber security and its threat to local authorities has never been more important.
Cyber threats are rapidly developing in scale and sophistication, while the fast-paced digital transformation and organisational change within councils during the pandemic, and since, has created and exposed new vulnerabilities in technology, processes, skills and training.
Cyber attackers can prey on human emotion and trust to manipulate and ‘socially engineer’ their targets. Techniques include phishing, scareware and fake sites.
Training, education and awareness are extremely valuable in reducing the likelihood of ‘social engineering’ being successful.
The risk associated with a cyber incident is greater than ever: there were at least 11 million attacks on UK local authorities in 2022, and all staff and elected members need to be prepared.
Recent incidents at Gloucester City, Hackney, and Redcar & Cleveland Borough Councils highlight the increased cyber risk faced by local authorities.
Cyber attacks may cause major disruption to critical council services, damage a council’s reputation and finances, and have a significant impact on residents and staff.
There is no such thing as 100 per cent cyber secure, but it is vital that councils are equipped to protect against cyber attacks and prepare for them – and, in the face of an incident, are supported to respond and recover effectively.
When discussing cyber risks, the conversation tends to focus on the role of the IT department. While they do have a role to play, it is everyone’s responsibility to understand cyber vulnerabilities and threats to councils.
However, there are a number of barriers preventing senior leaders, officers and elected members from having open conversations with IT teams about cyber risk. For those who are new to digital issues, one of these barriers is a lack of understanding of key technical concepts.
The LGA’s new video series, ‘Cyber Unpacked’, offers a fresh way for those who are less familiar with technical concepts to learn about cyber security and digital topics in a quick, engaging and accessible manner.
These short, animated videos on cyber security topics help to explain some of the common terms you might hear in your council when talking about risk, data and security.
Topics in the first series include ‘What is data?’, ‘What does good password security look like?’, and ‘What is phishing?’, and are relevant to all members and staff who would like to learn more about cyber security and digitalisation.
They can improve understanding of cyber risk in less than three minutes, helping with decision-making in the long term and with moving us towards a more cyber-secure workforce.
October is Cyber Awareness Month and an opportune time to use the LGA’s new resource to become more familiar with cyber security concepts and to raise awareness of its importance within your organisation.
We hope you enjoy watching the Cyber Unpacked videos, and please share these with your colleagues. They form part of the LGA’s wider sector support offer on cyber, digital and technology.
Leadership essentials: digitalisation
As local leaders, councillors set the digital priorities of their local areas to deliver benefits for staff, residents, businesses and visitors.
In December and January, the LGA is running three Leadership Essentials Digitalisation programmes for councillors to learn more about their role in building secure digital public services that meet the needs of communities effectively and efficiently.
The cost of attending is fully subsidised. To book, email [email protected].