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08
May 2024
Exclusive: Hackers demand ransom after breaching North Yorkshire Council computer system
International hackers have breached the trading standards computer system at North Yorkshire Council and demanded a ransom.
The Stray Ferret was tipped off by an anonymous source at the council who said the hackers had encrypted large amounts of data and were "demanding a ransom to decrypt it".
The source added:
The Stray Ferret asked the council for further details about the breach, which is believed to have happened in March.
We asked how much data had been compromised and how it was able to happen, as well as what action the council was taking to resolve the situation, and the likely cost and timeframe.
The council issued a statement that included quotes from Mike Andrews, the National Trading Standards eCrime team’s national co-ordinator, and Madeline Hoskin, the council’s assistant director for technology.
The National Trading Standards eCrime team investigates fraud on behalf of local authorities.
The statement confirmed there had been "an incident", which it said had been "contained" but did not clarify the extent of the breach.
Mr Andrews said in the statement:
Ms Hoskin said in the statement:
The council declined to comment further.
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