A series of cyber attacks recently disrupted several council websites across the UK.
- Pro-Russian group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for these disruptions.
- The hackers targeted Salford, Bury, Trafford, and Tameside among others.
- Attacks involved DDoS methods, overwhelming sites with traffic.
- Authorities confirm no personal data breach occurred.
In recent events, several council websites in the UK, including those of Salford, Bury, Trafford, and Tameside, experienced significant disruptions due to cyber attacks. These attacks were claimed by the pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16) on the social media platform X, where they justified their actions as a response to UK authorities’ support of Ukraine.
The hackers employed a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack technique to execute these disruptions. DDoS attacks work by flooding the target website with a massive amount of traffic, effectively rendering it inaccessible to legitimate users. While the technical sophistication and impact of DDoS attacks are often considered low, they can still cause significant inconvenience by blocking access to online services.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provided guidance and support to the affected councils. A spokesperson for the NCSC remarked, “Whilst DDoS attacks are relatively low in sophistication and impact, they can cause disruption by preventing legitimate users from accessing online services.” This highlights the disruptive potential of such attacks despite their simplicity.
Council authorities assured the public that, despite the attacks, no personal data had been compromised. The main issue remained limited access to services provided by the council websites, which have since been addressed and rectified to ensure continued service delivery.
The recent cyber assaults underscore the persistent threat of online attacks and the necessity for continued vigilance and cybersecurity measures.
