Derby City Council is advising its Council Tax and Benefits customers to be vigilant around potential risks following a data breach at IT services provider Capita.
People are urged to watch out for suspicious or unsolicited communications, whether these are letters in the post, emails, or phone calls in the wake of a data breach which happened in May this year.
The council’s web sait says: “Capita supplies the Council with a system that supports the Council Tax and Benefits service. The incident, which has also affected several other local authorities across the country, relates to data collected in early 2021.
“We know this information security incident will have caused concern, and we would like to apologise to our customers. Derby City Council has investigated the incident to understand the extent of how its Council Tax and Benefits customers have been affected.
“Personal data affected by the incident included names, addresses and reference numbers for Council Tax customers; as well as names, addresses, reference numbers, income and capital details relating to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claims in payment at the time of the breach.
“The Council will be contacting individuals directly to make them aware, where there could be an increased risk.”
The Council is continuing to work with Capita and the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure that all appropriate actions are taken to address what has occurred.
