A number of local authorities have confirmed they are taking action in response to by the data breach through revenues and benefits software provided by Capita.
Derby City Council, Colchester City Council and Rochford District Council have published statements on their websites saying they have been in contact with the company over the breach.
Coventry City Council has said it has been informed of the breach by Capita, according to a report by The Register, while Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council, which share management and IT systems, and South Staffordshire District Council has also been affected, according to a report in The MJ.
It is currently unclear whether there has been any significant intrusion into personal data held by the affected councils.
Derby statement
Derby City Council’s director of financial services, Alison Parkin, commented: “We’re very disappointed to hear about the incident involving one of our suppliers, Capita. We take matters of information security very seriously and have voluntarily reported this incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
“As a council, our priority is to protect individuals’ privacy rights and to ensure that personal data is protected. We have had confirmation from Capita that the affected records were secured as soon as they became aware of the incident.
“We know this incident will cause concern, and we would like to apologise to our customers. We will be contacting affected customers individually, you do not need to contact us.
“We will continue to work with Capita and the ICO to understand the cause of the data breach and how to prevent it from happening again in the future. As part of our investigation, we will also be taking the opportunity to review the arrangements with Capita.”
Interrupted intrusion
Capita’s recent statement on the incident on its website said it interrupted an unathorised intrusion, which restricted its impact, and it has been working with customers and regulatory authorities to notify those affected and take necessary steps.
The company expects to incur exceptional costs of between £15-20 million associated with the incident.
The first reports of the attack on Capita emerged in early April but it has taken weeks for reports to emerge of some local authorities being affected.
