Public sector needs cyber help
Alexander Stewart calls for more action
Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife Alexander Stewart has said he is “appalled” at the rise of cyber-attacks on Scottish councils. A recent investigation found 60% of Scottish councils and over half of the country’s health boards have been targeted by cyber criminals since 2014.
During this time nine universities and a number of government bodies have also been hit, and many local authorities claiming they are “bombarded” with thousands of spam emails, including ransom demands to decrypt data.
Perth and Kinross Council was found to have blocked an average of 1.2 million spam emails every month. It has had three ransomware attacks, but none were reported, as a spokesperson for the council said “attacks were treated as business as usual and not significant enough to warrant reporting”.
Alexander Stewart MSP said: “Cyber-crime is sadly on the increase and has indeed been recognised as the biggest single hostile threat we face outwith that of a physical attack.
“Cyber-crime is now said to be ‘the great wild card that can turn the world’s most advanced technology against itself ’ and, as such, we must wake up to the very real fact that it will now never go away. To this end, we have to take action in ensuring we have the very best defences in place on our council’s IT systems, especially those which carry sensitive or personal data.
“Having the best electronic systems in place is only the tip of the iceberg, however, as councils must actively ensure that their staff are educated to the consequences of their actions, for example opening email attachments which aren’t recognised or which look unusual, mainly out of curiosity.
“Likewise, if they don’t already, their IT professionals and heads of department must instil a discipline of backing-up the day’s work and storing all the information externally, just in case an attack was successful. This way, we would not be vulnerable and could easily reinstall a day’s work which may otherwise have been lost.
“The Scottish Government says it is committed to accelerating the development of a public sector action plan in helping to promote a common approach to cyber resilience across Scotland’s public bodies. I just hope these words become actions as a matter of urgency and if not, we will be asking some very serious questions as to why.”