‘Foreign Hackers’ Target UK Council in Second Cyber Attack This Week

Key Takeaways

• Councils in the U.K. have been affected by a string of (DDoS) attacks.
• The pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16) has taken responsibility for some of the attacks.
• Middlesbrough Council blamed “foreign hackers” for bringing down its website twice in one week.

A series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks brought down local government websites in the U.K. twice in one week.

After a pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16) took responsibility for attacks that temporarily affected websites operated by Salford, Bury, and Trafford councils on Oct. 28, Middlesbrough Council blamed  “foreign hackers” for an attack on its website two days later.

Councils Targeted by DDoS Campaign

Commenting on the first incident, a National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) spokesperson confirmed  the agency had “provided guidance” to affected local authorities.

“Whilst DDoS attacks are relatively low in sophistication and impact, they can cause disruption by preventing legitimate users from accessing online services,” they said.

NoName057(16) Claims Responsibility

Since its inception in 2022, NoName057(16) has used the same tactic on a range of mostly Ukrainian, European, and American government agencies, media outlets, and other private companies.

In a statement  on X, the group said the latest attacks were in response to British support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. 

“While the Russophobic UK authorities continue to sponsor the criminal Kiev regime, we are launching our attacks on that country’s websites,” the group said.

Multiple Cyber Attacks

Although not among the authorities NoName057(16) identified as targets, Middlesbrough Council was targeted by DDoS attacks twice in the past week, first on Oct. 30 and then again on Nov. 2.

In response to the initial attack, the council website was taken offline for testing on Wednesday and returned to normal on Friday.

Sunday’s breach doesn’t appear to have resulted in any sustained downtime, and the council said no services were affected and no council or personal data was compromised.

About the Author

James Morales

Although his background is in crypto and FinTech news, these days, James likes to roam across CCN’s editorial breadth, focusing mostly on digital technology. Having always been fascinated by the latest innovations, he uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.

See more

[email protected] LinkedIn Twitter