Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, alongside three other London councils (Hackney, Westminster, and Hammersmith & Fulham), fell victim to a coordinated cyber attack disrupting critical public services. The incident led to IT system failures, including outages in phone line services, directly impacting residents’ ability to access essential council operations. While the council collaborated with the **National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)** to mitigate the attack and restore systems, the full extent of data compromise remains unclear as investigations continue. The **Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)** was notified per regulatory protocols. Staff were placed on high alert to safeguard resident data, and Westminster City Council acknowledged difficulties in public communication. The attack’s broader implications include potential reputational damage, operational disruptions in governance, and risks to sensitive citizen data—though no confirmed breaches of personal or financial information have been disclosed yet. The BBC’s coverage amplified public awareness, adding pressure on the council’s crisis response.

Source: https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366635092/London-councils-endure-wave-of-cyber-attacks-shared-IT-services-hit

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/royal-borough-of-kensington-and-chelsea

"id": "roy4492644112625",
"linkid": "royal-borough-of-kensington-and-chelsea",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "11/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "6",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the economy of geographical region"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Public Sector',
                        'location': 'London, UK',
                        'name': 'Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea',
                        'type': 'Local Government'},
                       {'industry': 'Public Sector',
                        'location': 'London, UK',
                        'name': 'Westminster City Council',
                        'type': 'Local Government'},
                       {'industry': 'Public Sector',
                        'location': 'London, UK',
                        'name': 'Hackney Council',
                        'type': 'Local Government'},
                       {'industry': 'Public Sector',
                        'location': 'London, UK',
                        'name': 'Hammersmith and Fulham Council',
                        'type': 'Local Government'}],
 'customer_advisories': 'Hackney Council raised cyber security threat level to '
                        "'critical' and urged staff to protect residents’ "
                        'data; Westminster City Council acknowledged public '
                        'difficulties in contacting the council.',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-11-24',
 'description': 'Four London councils—Kensington and Chelsea, Hackney, '
                'Westminster, and Hammersmith and Fulham—have experienced IT '
                'system disruptions due to cyber attacks. Some public '
                'services, including phone lines, have been affected. The '
                'councils are working with the National Cyber Security Centre '
                '(NCSC) to mitigate the issue, restore systems, and maintain '
                'critical services. Investigations are ongoing to determine if '
                'any data was compromised.',
 'impact': {'operational_impact': 'Disruption to public services, including '
                                  'phone lines',
            'systems_affected': ['IT systems', 'Phone line services']},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing; too early to determine threat actor or '
                         'motivation',
 'references': [{'source': 'BBC'},
                {'date_accessed': '2023-11-24',
                 'source': 'Statements from Royal Borough of Kensington and '
                           'Chelsea and Westminster City Council'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['Information '
                                                        'Commissioner’s Office '
                                                        '(ICO)']},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public statements issued; Information '
                                        'Commissioner’s Office (ICO) notified',
              'containment_measures': 'Mitigations implemented by IT teams',
              'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
              'recovery_measures': 'Maintaining critical services to the '
                                   'public',
              'remediation_measures': 'Systems restoration and protection of '
                                      'data',
              'third_party_assistance': ['National Cyber Security Centre '
                                         '(NCSC)']},
 'title': 'Cyber Attacks on Four London Councils',
 'type': 'Cyber Attack'}