Protecting against cyber attacks 

Cyber attacks can result in severe consequences like stealing personal data or preventing us from carrying out important work. There are things we can do to help safeguard our information and data.

If you suspect there is a problem

Remain vigilant to possible cybercrime activities.

Report any suspicious emails or activity by logging a security incident on the Assyst portal. 

Our Technology Services team will never communicate major changes by emailing you directly and they will never send you an email link to change your password.

You can see illustrated top tips for staying safe online on the National Cyber Security Centre website.

Suspicious emails

Protect yourself by exercising caution when receiving unsolicited, unexpected or suspicious emails.

Avoid clicking links or opening attachments in such messages and delete suspicious emails. Be especially wary if you are:

• asked to make any changes to continue to access accounts
• told you must take urgent action by clicking links, that will usually take you to spoof sites where a scammer copies the look and branding of a well known company
• told to open urgent attachments

Signs that an email is fake

Indications an email is fake include when:

• the email address mismatches the supposed sender or is spelled incorrectly
• the email or web form contains poor spelling and grammar
• it comes from an unknown source holding links or documents
• it comes from known sources that are out of place holding links or documents
• the message asks for personal information or for you to send money
• the message is vague, other than pointing you to a web link
• the message is an offer that seems too good to be true

Never open a suspicious email, but if you do:

• never click on a link
• never open any documents
• never share the email

Using secure passwords

Do not use your Essex County Council password for any other personal websites, applications or services you may be signed up to. For example, you should not use the same password for your council account and LinkedIn. If LinkedIn were to have a breach, then hackers would have access to a council password that they could use to log in to our systems.

For the same reason, do not use the same password for accessing more than one business website or application.

What makes a strong password?

In advance of this change, creating a strong password guidance has been created which highlights examples of what makes a strong password:

• Three random words
• Password length (minimum nine characters)
• Special characters (upper case, lower case, numbers, symbols).

The National Cyber Security Centre has illustrated guidance on how passwords are discovered by cyber criminals and how to improve security (PDF, 200KB).

Trusted cybersecurity websites

Get Safe Online provide unbiased, factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety.

Cyber Aware offers advice on how to stay secure online from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre.

Take Five – To Stop Fraud is a national campaign that offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from financial fraud. 

Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime where you should report fraud if you have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The National Cyber Security Centre glossary is set of straightforward definitions for common cyber security words and phrases.