Local Councils Champion Online Safety Essentials

Local councils across the north-east invest more than £500,000 on 'online safety essentials'.

14:26 03 January 2020

Aberdeen City Council is set to invest £450,000 on technology to combat hackers. Based on figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, the council will spend £315,000 on a next generation firewall for five years, £112,800 on extra hardware and £15,000 on technical support. Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire will spend about £85,000 on “online safety essentials”. The investment follows insurance broker Gallagher’s report showing that local authorities are exposed to almost 800 online threats per hour.

 

 

 

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “We have a duty to ensure the public, children and young people in our schools and council staff can use computers, mobile phones and electronic devices safely in the knowledge they are protected against cyber-attacks.

 

 

 

“We regularly remind our staff and young people in schools about how to stay safe online but to ensure complete peace of mind our ICT department invests in the most up-to-date and cost-effective cyber security systems.”

 

 

 

An Aberdeen City 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 their impact.

 

 

 

“Aberdeen City Council has a dedicated team focusing on cyber security, adhering to best practice and Government guidelines.

 

 

 

“Implementing ‘Defence in Depth’ layered security and continual monitoring helps identify and prevent threats contributing to the overall security posture.”