Supply Chain Cyber Attacks on Local Councils: Third-Party Risk in Local Government
Local authorities rely on complex ecosystems of technology suppliers — document management, revenues and benefits systems, planning portals, leisure management, and IT support providers. Each supplier with access to council networks represents a potential attack vector. When MOVEit was exploited in 2023, public sector organisations worldwide — including UK councils — found their data exposed through trusted software they had no reason to distrust.
Supply chain attacks exploiting trusted third-party software and services affected hundreds of UK public sector organisations in 2023 alone.
Why Councils Are Vulnerable to Supply Chain Attacks
Local authorities grant extensive access to technology suppliers: remote access to council servers for maintenance, integration with core systems holding resident data, and privileged access to IT infrastructure. Many councils lack visibility of which suppliers have active access, on what terms, and what security controls those suppliers maintain.
Building a Council Supplier Security Programme
Effective supplier security for councils requires:
- A register of all suppliers with access to council systems or data
- Security questionnaires and Cyber Essentials verification for all critical suppliers
- Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) covering GDPR obligations for all data processors
- Contractual rights to audit supplier security controls
- Monitoring of third-party access — logging and reviewing supplier remote sessions
- Incident response clauses requiring prompt notification of supplier breaches
Frequently Asked Questions
How should councils assess the security of technology suppliers?
Start with a tiered approach based on the access and data involved. High-risk suppliers — those with remote access to core systems or processing large volumes of resident data — should complete detailed security questionnaires, provide evidence of Cyber Essentials certification, and be subject to contractual audit rights. Lower-risk suppliers require lighter-touch assessments.
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