Aberdeen's Fight Against Cyber-threats

Aberdeen City Council blocked 15million attempts to gain illegal access to its computer system in the last year.

18:38 22 November 2019

Aberdeen City Council’s technicians have managed to block 41,800 daily illegal attempts to access the council’s computer system in the last year, a report has confirmed. Almost three-quarters of the attempts involved spam and phishing emails, nearly one-quarter were classified as intrusions and more than 35,000 attempts involved computer viruses. 

 

 

 

Operational delivery convener John Wheeler said: “Given the volume of attempts, it’s encouraging that our security systems are catching all but a tiny number of them.

 

 

 

“I’d commend our officers for the work they’re putting in to keep the authority safe.” 

 

 

 

Jai Aenugu, managing director of Aberdeen cyber-security company The TechForce, added: “Data shows that most cyber-attack attempts across both the public and private sectors involve the use of phishing and scam emails.

 

 

 

“Since more than 90% of successful cyber-attacks start from a phishing email, it is vital for an organisation to nurture a strong security culture by educating their employees on potential risks of phishing emails and how to spot them.”

 

 

 

A council spokesman said: “Aberdeen City council is continually developing and refining controls to mitigate against the impact of cyber threats.

 

 

 

“During the previous year, there were two large global spikes increasing the number of attempts.

 

 

 

“While we are unable to limit the number of attempts, the focus is on aligning people, process and technology to minimise the impact of these cyber threats.”