William Eichler 26 October 2016

Councils vulnerable to cyber attacks due to low IT security spend, finds research

Councils spend eight times more on health and safety training than on IT security and data protection courses combined, new research reveals.

Freedom of Information requests to 129 local authorities by the technology services company Citrix showed an average of £27,818 is now spent by many local authorities on health and safety training - nearly double the spend in 2015.

This is considerably more than the amount being committed to data protection and IT security training - £3,378 per local authority.

The research, which was based on the responses of 109 councils, also discovered over a third of council-issued devices could be vulnerable to cyber-attackers through low training spend and having no protective enterprise-grade software installed.

Overall, the findings reveal nearly £1.2m has been committed between the councils this fiscal year on health and safety, meditation, working at heights and managing difficult situations training, compared to £104,711 on IT security and data protection courses.

Citrix also discovered 86% of local authorities spent nothing at all on IT security training this year.

Over the past two fiscal years an average of 714 smart devices per local authority have been issued to staff, totaling more than 56,000 overall.

However, respondents indicated that 39.6% of these aren’t protected by enterprise mobility management software.

‘Cyber threats continue to be more prolific and advanced today than ever before,’ Jon Cook, Citrix director, sales, UK & Ireland.

‘And with the responsibility for managing citizen data, coupled with the risk of penalties of up to £500,000 for data-breaches, it is crucial that employees know how to keep information secure from external threats.

‘With the stakes so high, councils must ensure that staff understand the importance of data protection in the growing threat landscape.’

Making payment processes smarter  image

Making payment processes smarter

It can be challenging to find the right software to streamline payment processes. Lewis McKenna-Crisp argues SmarterPay has the ideal solution for councils.
SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Adult Social Care Support Worker - Technology Enabled Care

Essex County Council
£25395.00 - £32131.00 per annum
Adult Social Care Support Worker - Technology Enabled CareFixed Term, Full Time£25,391 to £32,131 Per AnnumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Placement Officer

Essex County Council
£28220.00 - £33200.00 per annum + + 26 Days Leave & Local Gov Pension
Placement OfficerPermanent, Full Time£28,220 to £33,200 Per AnnumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Senior Engineer x 2

Hounslow London Borough Council
£47,532 –£55,620 per annum
Our people are deeply committed to providing excellent services to our residents, doing all we can to make lives as good as they can be. Hounslow (City/Town), London (Greater)
Recuriter: Hounslow London Borough Council

Senior Highways Engineer

Hounslow London Borough Council
£50,754 – £53,607 per annum
Our people are deeply committed to providing excellent services to our residents, doing all we can to make lives as good as they can be. Hounslow (City/Town), London (Greater)
Recuriter: Hounslow London Borough Council

Customer Service Adviser

Oxfordshire County Council
£24404 - £24790
You will be the Customer Service Adviser at Abingdon Library. Customer Service Advisers are the first point of contact with library customers and library partners. The role involves continual interaction with users of the library, face to face, via email Abingdon
Recuriter: Oxfordshire County Council
Linkedin Banner