Cyber threats targeting UK local authorities are accelerating.
Attackers are becoming more aggressive, more sophisticated, and more determined - and councils are increasingly finding themselves in the firing line.
When local government systems are hit, the consequences are immediate and severe: disrupted public services, compromised data, critical infrastructure taken offline, and in the worst cases, risks to public safety.
Recent attacks across the sector have exposed just how quickly an incident can escalate, and how devastating the impact can be when defences fall short.
As councils manage limited resources and legacy systems, the question remains: are you truly prepared for a cyber attack?
E-Guide: Secure local public services with confidence
Our comprehensive Local Authorities E-guide is designed to help you:
- Keep your environment uncompromised
- Understand your cyber maturity
- Be prepared to respond to incidents
- Level up with 24/7 capability
- Simplify compliance
Why local authorities choose NCC Group
- We've supported the UK’s public sector for over 25 years with our cyber solutions - 24/7, 365 days a year.
- We understand your environment. In 2025, we supported three London councils in responding and recovering from a high-profile cyber attack
- We’ll validate your security posture amidst rising threats and pivot instantly to incident response if a compromise is detected
- Our Cyber Incident Response team are accredited to NCSC CIR Scheme Standard and Enhanced Level, as well as being a BSI-certified Advanced Persistent Threat Response Provider.
The current threat to UK local authorities
"Local authorities have proved to be regular victims of a variety of cyber attacks.
Unfortunately, this is unlikely to change in the short term and so our advice is that all councils, no matter their size should be taking positive steps to being more resilient, so that they can survive and thrive after an incident: putting in place 24/7 monitoring of IT systems, enforcing strong password policies and MFA, and limiting administrator access with phishing-resistant controls are all good places to start. Although some actions may take time, prioritising rapid risk reduction is essential for survival and recovery. “
Tim Rawlins - Director and Senior Advisor, NCC Group
Keep reading below for more insights on the threat to local authorities.
Want to find out more? Let’s strengthen your cyber resilience
200
ransomware attacks on government in 2024, 23% higher than 2023 and 74% higher than 2022
8 th
In 2024, the government sector was within the top 10 sectors targeted by ransomware, placing it in 8th position
12 %
of all data events observed in 2024 affected public administration
59 %
of 2024 breaches against public administration stemmed from insiders and 41% from external breaches
Case Study: Building resilience within local government
A ransomware attack on a local authority in early 2020 highlighted the sector’s vulnerability and the urgent need for improved cyber resilience. NCC Group led a 14-week, government-sponsored programme to boost resilience across 27 UK local authorities at high risk of ransomware attacks.
Through collaborative workshops, risk assessments, and modular remediation, 236 critical risks were addressed, reducing backup vulnerabilities and improving long-term resilience.