A ‘cyber attack’ has hit authorities across Greater Manchester — leaving thousands vulnerable to a phishing scam. The attack, which initially hit one borough last week and spread over the weekend, on software company Locata has downed the housing websites for Manchester, Salford, and Bolton councils. It has also led to thousands of users being sent a phishing email asking them to ‘activate your tenancy options’ and hand over personal data.
Locata, which provides housing software for councils across the country, has apologised for the disruption. A statement from the firm said: “On July 29, we identified an IT security incident which impacted a small number of public facing websites which Locata Housing Services run on behalf of local authorities. “We moved quickly to manage the issue and, working with third-party IT experts are investigating the matter.
We have informed those local authorities impacted and our investigation is ongoing. We are keeping them updated and are working to resolve this matter as soon as possible. We would like to apologise for what has happened.
” Locally, authorities said they were ‘aware’ of the attack and scam. Bolton was also affected, a spokesperson confirmed: “We are aware of a cyber attack against Locata, a third party software company which supplies many local authorities in the UK. “Some people registered on the Homes for Bolton choice-based lettings service have been targeted by an email phishing scam as a result.
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