A cyber attack targeting Leicester City Council has resulted in some street lights being left on throughout the day. The attack, which occurred seven weeks ago on Thursday, March 7, not only disrupted the council’s services but also led to the leak of confidential documents online, including rent statements and applications to buy council properties.
The ransomware attack, carried out by a group of online criminals, completely shut down the council’s IT systems, leading to ongoing issues, including one now affecting the city’s street lighting.
Roger Ewens, 65, a resident of Beaumont Leys, noticed the street lights on his road were continuously on and contacted the city council for an explanation. He was surprised to learn from the council’s response that the cyber attack had impacted the “central management system,” causing the street lights to “misbehave.”
He was informed in an email received today (Monday) that the issue is expected to be resolved by the end of next week. Ewens told LeicestershireLive, “The lights in my area have been burning away all day and all night, so it’s got to be costing a lot. It’s been going on for quite a while now but the council are unable to switch them off. A lot of people around here have mentioned it. I noticed that down Anstey Lane they’re all on along one side but off on the other side. It looks like they’re going to take a while to sort it out, too.”
A spokesperson for the city council stated, “We are aware of a number of streetlights that are staying on during the day. This is due to a technical issue connected to the recent cyber attack, when we were forced to shut down our IT systems. It means we are currently not able to remotely identify faults in the street lighting system. The default mode for faults is that the lights stay on to ensure that roads are not left completely unlit and become a safety concern. There are a number of steps required to resolve the problem, and we are working through these as quickly as we can.”
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