London Cyber Crisis: Attack Forces Multiple Borough Councils to Shut Down Services
Several London boroughs have been hit by a serious digital incident that has rendered parts of their online services and telephone lines inaccessible. Local authorities are shutting down individual systems and shifting to temporary operating modes in an effort to reduce risk.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster City Council, and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have all reported a cyberattack. The first signs of trouble in Kensington and Chelsea emerged on the afternoon of 24 November, when a message appeared on social media warning of disruptions affecting access to online services. By the morning of 25 November, the council was already speaking of a significant problem with its IT infrastructure, one that continued to impede the delivery of municipal services.
At the same time, Westminster City Council reported issues within its information systems. Staff at both councils received internal notices explaining that the shutdown of certain services was a defensive measure in response to the cyber incident. The Borough of Hackney was also alerted to a potential threat. Following emergency meetings, its internal cyber-threat level was raised to critical, and personnel were instructed to exercise heightened caution when working with systems and data.
Employees of the Hammersmith and Fulham council likewise received a notification about a serious information-security incident. The municipality stresses that no confirmed evidence of a successful breach has been found so far, but a state of elevated readiness remains in effect.
National bodies have intervened. Kensington and Chelsea notified the UK Information Commissioner’s Office and established coordination with the National Cyber Security Centre, part of the intelligence agency GCHQ. Information-security teams worked through the night, strengthening defensive mechanisms and maintaining the operation of key public services.
Council representatives apologised to residents for delays and warned of potential disruptions in processing requests in the coming days. The boroughs intend to continue coordinating efforts with cybersecurity specialists and relevant agencies to restore their systems as swiftly as possible.
The National Cyber Security Centre has also confirmed its involvement, assessing the impact on local authorities. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police stated that its cybercrime unit has opened an investigation following a report submitted via the Action Fraud service.
The inquiry remains in its early stages and no arrests have been made. Residents of the affected boroughs may continue to experience difficulties accessing online services, telephone lines, and other council functions while restoration work continues and potential data exposure is assessed.
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