Three London borough councils have confirmed that attackers copied data during a cyberattack that disrupted shared IT systems. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster City Council, and Hammersmith and Fulham operate a joint infrastructure that was affected when the intrusion occurred. Officials said evidence indicates that some information was extracted, though the full scope remains under review.
Kensington and Chelsea stated that the copied material appears to be historical data. The council said it is assessing whether any of the information includes personal or financial records linked to residents or service users. Councils activated emergency procedures and took affected systems offline while specialist teams worked to contain the intrusion. Services, including online contact portals and some telephone lines, experienced disruption during the response.
Security advisers said shared IT platforms can increase exposure when an attacker gains access at a single point. They noted that interconnected systems across public bodies may allow intrusions to spread quickly and affect multiple organisations at once. Analysts said the case underlines the need for clear segmentation and stronger monitoring controls in shared environments.
Council leaders said the information commissioner has been notified and that residents will receive further updates once reviews of the extracted data are complete. Officials encouraged residents to treat unsolicited communication with caution while investigations continue. They said that, although the breach appears to involve older records, transparency is necessary so that individuals can monitor for signs of misuse.
Law enforcement and cyber incident specialists are examining how the attacker gained access and whether additional systems were affected. Investigators have not confirmed whether ransomware or another method was used. Councils said containment measures remain in place while technical teams analyse network activity and validate the integrity of remaining systems.