Salford’s housing register has been hit by a ‘cyber breach’ with the council warning that people’s personal information may have been revealed. A message appeared on the Salford Home Search website earlier this month telling users that the service has been temporarily suspended after the incident, which took place on August 2. The software behind the website is managed by a third party company, but the council said the firm is not able to say how much personal data may have been revealed.

There are around 5,000 people on Salford’s housing register, and the council has warned users they may have received ‘phishing’ emails, which encourage people to click links and add personal data on an alternative website with the aim of stealing information. The incident will affect people in Little Hulton and Walkden. Anyone worried they may have done this has been told to check their bank account for suspicious activity, change any passwords which are the same as their Salford Home Search account, and consider signing up for a free credit report.

A council update on the housing register website stated: “We would like to apologise to all residents for the inconvenience but the strong stance on suspending the site is to protect local residents and their information.” A resident who uses Salford Home Search said the situation is “really worrying” for people. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “They [Salford’s housing register] have got all our informati.