City Council builds defence to cyberattack

Galway City Council’s new Head of IT Elaine Naughton assured city councillors that the local authority’s cyber security was robust and modern.

Cyber security was one of three main pillars of the Council’s new Digital Strategy for Galway City – it will focus on ensuring security of the Council’s IT systems, data protection and privacy of citizens who interact with the local authority.

Ms Naughton said that a breach of cyber security in another local authority can be isolated so that it won’t impact on Galway City Council. And she gave a comprehensive outline of the measures in place to protect the Council’s IT systems.

A number of elected members questioned the adequacy of cyber security at City Hall after two separate recent cyberattacks paralysed the HSE nationally and in Galway, and caused havoc in NUI Galway.

Mayor of Galway, Colette Connolly (Ind) said she was the victim of impersonation online – people purporting to be her had emailed her, she said.

Councillor Declan McDonnell (Ind) said cyber security was crucial for any digital strategy and he hoped the Council had invested enough in it.

“Right across Europe, everyone is under pressure from the Russians etcetera,” he said.

He subsequently withdrew the comment about Russia when Mayor Connolly said, “I don’t think you can make comments about an entire nation”.

Councillor Terry O’Flaherty asked whether back-up systems were in place if the IT system at City Hall was hacked into.

Councillor Niall McNelis (Lab) had also sought assurances that the Council had adequate staffing and resources for cyber security and other aspects of the digital plan.

Ms Naughton confirmed the Council was rolling-out Wi-Fi to facilitate free internet access at most public spaces in the city as part of the strategy.

A full list would be issued to elected members, she said, but included places such as the tennis courts in Roscam, playground in Doughiska, the Promenade in Salthill, Terryland Castle and Miller’s Lane.

Another part of the strategy, she said, was a commitment that Galway City Council would become paperless by 2025.

The strategy calls for a move to digitise all aspects of the planning process. It also said that the Council “can monitor and reduce the amount of paper it uses to become paperless by 2025” and other organisations “can be encouraged to do likewise”.

Councillor John Connolly (FF) was concerned about this proposal however, and said it might worsen the digital divide that already exists and reduce access to a certain cohort who are not computer savvy.

“I much prefer to read something in hard format than in digital on a screen,” he said.

Chief Executive Brendan McGrath said that “it can never be and will never be” a truly paperless Council.

“We will never be fully paperless. There will always be a need for hard copies of documents such as the City Development Plan,” he said.

Ms Naughton said that it was acceptable to print off documents in order to read them but that it was not good practice, for example, to print off emails and to leave them lying around on your desk for six months.

Councillor Niall Murphy (Green) suggested digital early warning systems that could alert people through mobile phones about real-time flooding threats or weather events.

Councillor Eddie Hoare (FG) said that digital technology should be used to allow people to pay for parking using their smart phones. Using technology to alert disabled drivers of all available disabled parking spaces in the city, was another positive use of digital that should be looked at, he said.

The plan was adopted by Councillors and Ms Naughton agreed to give an update on its progress in six to twelve months.