Tameside Council targeted by pro-Russian hackers in cyber attack

Pro-Russian hackers claim they have targeted Greater Manchester councils, including Tameside, in a cyber attack.

The group claimed to have hit Tameside as well as Salford, Bury and Trafford town halls with a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, flooding the websites with internet traffic to put them out of use.

Salford and Bury councils confirmed their web pages were temporarily affected by the incident but are now back online.

A group named NoName057(16), pictured with a Russian flag in its profile, posted on X about its plans to target UK town halls including in Greater Manchester.

Officials from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) stepped in to help councils across the country protect themselves.

A NCSC spokesperson said it provided guidance to affected councils.

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

Salford and Bury councils said residents were still able to access services in person and over the phone while their websites were out of use.

Trafford council said its website was targeted on Monday and access to online reporting services via the My Trafford portal were temporarily down.

The town hall said all services were restored by 12noon on October 30.

A spokesperson added: “Personal data was not targeted and remained secure throughout. We continue to remain vigilant and monitor for cyber threats.”

Tameside council was contacted for comment.

Councils in Greater Manchester also suffered a cyber attack in August when housing websites for Manchester, Salford and Bolton were hit, in a phishing scam incident targeting thousands of people around the region.

Users were sent emails asking for personal data, with town halls warning people to check bank accounts for any suspicious activity, and change passwords which they had used to access the housing register.

Salford Home Search remained down weeks after the incident first happened but was eventually back up and running.

Locata, the firm which provides housing software for councils across the country, has apologised for the disruption.

The company said in a statement at the time: “We moved quickly to manage the issue and, working with third-party IT experts, are investigating the matter.”

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said at the time that it received breach reports from the councils following the incident.

An ICO spokesperson added: “After assessing the reports and sending enquiries to Salford and Bolton councils, we provided data protection advice and closed the cases without further action.”