London Councils Hit by Cyberattack, Data of Nearly 150,000 Residents Possibly Compromised
London, UK – Residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), along with Westminster City Council and the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, have been alerted to a significant data breach following a series of cyberattacks believed to be carried out by state-sponsored hackers. The RBKC confirmed the compromise of systems containing data relating to approximately 147,500 residents.
While the full extent of the breach is still under investigation by the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), concerns exist that attackers may have copied resident data in an encrypted form, potentially including payment details and other personal information. The RBKC IT team has not yet confirmed whether highly sensitive financial information was specifically accessed.
The attacks have caused disruption to essential interaction services, including phone lines between the councils and residents. Law enforcement agencies are urging the public to exercise caution with unsolicited links received via email or text message and to regularly monitor bank statements for unusual activity.
Authorities are currently investigating the potential uses of the stolen data, which could include the creation of detailed individual profiles and exploitation for malicious purposes such as blackmail or identity theft. The Action Fraud Centre has received complaints from concerned residents.
this incident underscores the growing threat of sophisticated cyberattacks targeting local government infrastructure and the sensitive data of citizens.
