Cyber attackers steal personal data from Oxford City Council

Cyber attackers have stolen personal details of election workers from a council database, the authority has said.Hackers gained access to "historical data on legacy systems" on the weekend of 7 and 8 June, Oxford City Council disclosed.The authority said it had taken action to prevent any further incursion and had contacted people who were potentially affected.It said: "This unlawful breach of council systems is deeply regrettable for all impacted."
In a statement, the council said automatic security systems kicked in when the attack was detected, minimising the damage.The council said an investigation into the extent of the breach was continuing.It added: "We have now identified that people who worked on Oxford City Council-administered elections between 2001 and 2022, including poll station workers and ballot counters, may have had some personal details accessed. "The majority of these people will be current or former council officers."We understand that people will be concerned and today we have individually contacted people potentially affected to explain what happened [and] what support is available."There is no evidence to suggest that any of the accessed information has been shared with third parties."The authority apologised for disruption to some services over the last week while external cyber security specialists checked systems.
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