Exeter City Council was among several local authorities targeted in a recent cyberattack, according to claims by a hacker group.
The attack also impacted other councils, up and down the Country when they were hit by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack from the group known as NoName057(16).
A DDoS attack works by flooding a server or website with traffic from numerous sources, making it difficult for legitimate users to access services. Earlier this week, NoName057(16), which operates an account on X (formerly Twitter), claimed to have successfully breached over a dozen local authorities, listing Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council (BCP), Medway Council, Exeter City Council, Burnley Town Council, and Portsmouth among its targets.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has since issued guidance to the affected councils. An NCSC spokesperson explained, "While DDoS attacks are generally low in sophistication and impact, they can cause disruptions by blocking access to online services for legitimate users. We recommend organisations review our Denial of Service guidance to help prevent and address such attacks."
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