Local authorities in the UK are facing an average of 10,000 cyber-attacks every day, representing a 14% year-on-year increase, according to a new report.
This has seen a total of at least two million attempted or successful attacks so far in 2022, according to an analysis by risk management firm Gallagher.
The company lodged freedom of information (FoI) requests with every local authority in the UK.
It received data back from just under half (161 out of 333 councils and authorities), suggesting that the total number of attacks is actually far higher.
The most prevalent threat is phishing attacks, where malicious actors send emails or other communications purporting to be from reputable sources in order to get individuals to reveal personal information.
This was reported as the most common form of cyber-attack by three-quarters of respondents.
Successful phishing attacks can also act as a precursor to a more harmful incident, such as ransomware attacks.
Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks were the second most common form of cyber-attack, and were listed as the top threat by 6% of respondents.
This type of attack can be particularly dangerous for local authorities as they have the potential to disrupt websites and online services.
Cyber-attacks are particularly disrupting as councils offer more digital services
Johnty Mongan, head of cyber risk management at Gallagher, said that cyber-criminals were all too aware of the potential of these attacks to wreak havoc and cripple IT systems.
With local authorities increasingly serving local people online, any downtime can be hugely damaging.
The report found that while the majority of attacks were unsuccessful and many were intercepted and thwarted, local authorities paid a total of at least £10m over the past five years.
This figure included money lost directly to hackers as well as legal costs and regulatory fines.
Just over half (52%) said that they had also hired external experts over the past 12 months to help mitigate the risks of cybercrime.
The majority (85%) had also increased their own spending on cyber security measures.
Mongan said that it was a positive step that local authorities were recognising the dangers of cyber-attacks and employing external experts to help prevent the threat.
Tim Devine, managing director for government, housing, education, and public sector at Gallagher, added that it was also important to have a plan in place to mitigate a successful attack.
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