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Thousands of people who used housing services in Manchester, Salford and Bolton were reportedly targeted by phishing emails after a cyber attack on Locata, the third-party software provider behind the services. The emails asked recipients to “activate your tenancy options” and provide personal data. IT Pro reported the incident on 15 August 2024; its account did not establish an exact victim count or what information, if any, was accessed.
What happened in the Locata cyber attack?
IT Pro reported that attackers compromised Locata, a software firm running housing websites used by Manchester, Salford and Bolton. After the attack, thousands of users received a phishing email asking them to “activate your tenancy options” and hand over personal data. The report did not provide a full copy of the message, its sender identity, or the destination of any link.
The incident involved two related risks: a compromise at a supplier whose software supported public-facing housing services, and a follow-on attempt to exploit residents’ trust in those services through fraudulent email. The report does not identify the attackers or describe how they gained access to Locata.
How did the councils respond?
The councils suspended or closed the affected housing websites while the uncertainty around users’ personal information was being addressed. These were precautionary actions described in the 2024 reporting, not evidence of the services’ current status at that time or now.
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- Manchester: Manchester City Council suspended Manchester Move. As quoted by IT Pro, the council said: “The website is managed by a third party, and it will remain offline until we are confident that the personal information of people using the website is safe.”
- Salford: Salford City Council temporarily closed Home Search. IT Pro reported that the company responsible could not confirm the extent of any personal-data exposure.
- Bolton: Homes for Bolton displayed a temporary maintenance message, according to the report.
What information was exposed?
The available reporting does not establish whether personal data was accessed, which records may have been involved, or how many people were affected. “Thousands” is IT Pro’s rounded description of the people targeted by phishing emails, not an exact recipient count. The report gives no confirmed exposed-record total, financial loss figure, final breach assessment, or regulatory outcome. Salford’s reported inability to confirm the extent of exposure should not be read as proof either that data was stolen or that it was safe.
Manchester’s general housing privacy notice describes information applicants and their households may provide in ordinary housing-service use, including contact, financial and health information. That notice describes routine processing; it does not show that any of those categories were exposed in this incident. Manchester City Council housing information.
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What should people do if they receive a suspicious message?
At the time of the 2024 report, customers were advised to be wary of emails, avoid clicking links, monitor bank accounts and contact Action Fraud if they believed their data might have been accessed. That was advice reported at the time, not a newly issued warning.
- Do not use a link in an unexpected message to sign in, confirm tenancy choices or submit personal information.
- If you need to check a housing account or service, reach it through a council website or contact channel you locate independently.
- If you have already entered information or followed payment instructions, contact your bank promptly about any financial risk, and report suspected fraud through Action Fraud.
Is Manchester Move operating now?
Manchester City Council’s current housing pages describe Manchester Move as an online choice-based rehousing service where eligible applicants can register, view homes and apply. That confirms the service is available now; it does not provide a final account of the 2024 incident. The official sources available for this article did not establish the current status of Salford Home Search or Homes for Bolton, or publish a final incident finding for those services.
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What the incident says about third-party risk
A council service can depend on an outside provider, so an attack on that provider may affect both the service and the people who use it. The phishing attempt adds a separate danger: fraudulent messages can use a familiar housing context to persuade recipients to disclose information.
In IT Pro’s reporting, Abnormal Security CISO Mike Britton said, “In this case, a third party was targeted by the attackers to gain access to the public.” Illumio director of critical infrastructure Trevor Dearing argued that councils should plan for attacks and reduce their impact. He recommended addressing third-party risk with measures such as least-privilege access and network segmentation. These were expert recommendations quoted in the article, not confirmation that the councils had implemented those controls.
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