The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), along with Westminster City Council and Hammersmith and Fulham, experienced a **cyber attack** targeting their shared IT systems since Monday morning. The incident disrupted critical services, including phone lines, and prompted an ongoing investigation with support from the **National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)** and specialist cyber incident experts. While it remains unclear whether **residents’ data was compromised**, the councils have implemented mitigations and notified the **Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)**. The attack has caused delays in public services, with authorities working to restore systems and minimize disruptions. The NCSC is assessing the potential impact, but no further details on the attackers or the extent of data exposure have been confirmed. Residents have been advised to expect delays in responses and service availability as recovery efforts continue.
Source: https://www.inkl.com/news/multiple-london-councils-hit-by-cyber-attack-and-initiate-emergency-plans
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/royal-borough-of-kensington-and-chelsea
"id": "ROY2003320112625",
"linkid": "royal-borough-of-kensington-and-chelsea",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "11/2025",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "2",
"explanation": "Attack limited on finance or reputation"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Residents (number unspecified)',
'industry': 'Public Administration',
'location': 'London, UK',
'name': 'Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea '
'(RBKC)',
'type': 'Local Government Council'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents (number unspecified)',
'industry': 'Public Administration',
'location': 'London, UK',
'name': 'Westminster City Council (WCC)',
'type': 'Local Government Council'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents (number unspecified)',
'industry': 'Public Administration',
'location': 'London, UK',
'name': 'Hammersmith and Fulham Council',
'type': 'Local Government Council'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Residents warned of potential service delays; advised '
'to be flexible and understanding',
'data_breach': {'personally_identifiable_information': 'Potential '
'(unconfirmed)',
'type_of_data_compromised': "Potentially residents' data "
'(unconfirmed, type unspecified)'},
'date_detected': '2024-XX-XXT00:00:00Z (Monday morning, exact date '
'unspecified)',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-XX-XX (same day as detection, exact date '
'unspecified)',
'description': 'Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, and '
'Westminster City councils in London have been responding to a '
'cyber security incident since Monday morning. The councils, '
'which share IT systems, are working with specialist cyber '
'incident experts and the National Cyber Security Centre '
'(NCSC) to protect systems, restore services, and maintain '
'critical public services. The incident has disrupted phone '
'lines and other systems, with investigations ongoing to '
'determine if data was compromised. The Information '
'Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been notified.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential negative impact due to '
'service disruptions',
'data_compromised': "Potential compromise of residents' data "
'(unconfirmed)',
'downtime': 'Ongoing (as of disclosure, delays in services '
"expected for 'coming days')",
'identity_theft_risk': 'Potential (if data compromised)',
'operational_impact': 'Delays in responses and public services',
'systems_affected': ['Phone lines',
'Shared IT systems (unspecified)']},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (too early to determine if data compromised '
'or attribution)',
'references': [{'source': 'Sky News'},
{'source': 'Statement from Royal Borough of Kensington and '
'Chelsea (RBKC)'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Information '
'Commissioner’s Office '
'(ICO) notified']},
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Public statements apologizing for '
'inconvenience',
'Updates to residents as information '
'becomes available',
'Notification to Information '
'Commissioner’s Office (ICO)'],
'containment_measures': 'Mitigations put in place (unspecified)',
'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
'recovery_measures': 'Ongoing efforts to restore all systems as '
'quickly as possible',
'remediation_measures': 'Restoring systems with NCSC and cyber '
'specialists',
'third_party_assistance': ['Specialist cyber incident experts',
'National Cyber Security Centre '
'(NCSC)']},
'stakeholder_advisories': 'Apology to residents for inconvenience; updates to '
'be provided as available',
'title': 'Cyber Attack on Multiple London Councils Potentially Compromising '
"Residents' Data",
'type': 'Cyber Attack (potential data breach)'}