St Helens Borough Council has put in place extra security measures after a suspected ransomware attack on its IT systems and networks.

The council said that it immediately alerted its external cyber security contractor once the attack was identified on Monday and an investigation has been launched.

A spokesperson said: ‘We are continuing to provide council services via our website. Some internal systems to the council are currently being affected due to the actions we have put in place to prevent any further impact, and whilst a full investigation is undertaken.

‘While we work through this ongoing situation, we would recommend that residents are mindful of how to keep themselves safe online and be alert to any communications they may have received from the council.’

The spokesperson added: ‘Please be reassured that together with our cyber security specialists we are working to resolve this incident, but obviously this is a very complex and evolving situation.’

Update: The council spokesperson said Friday evening: 'We have been working with national agencies such as the National Cyber Security Centre, National Crime Agency, Merseyside Police, LGA, Solace and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who have been supporting the work of our IT teams and cyber security contractors to investigate and protect our network.

'As part of this we have completed protective and preventative measures to protect services. This has impacted on how some of our services are being delivered, but we are working hard to adapt to the situation and work around these issues to limit the disruption experienced by our residents.'

If this article was of interest, then check out our feature, ‘Local authorities and the AI revolution’ and 'How social housing professionals can combat cyber-attacks'.