Councils are failing to protect our card data, experts say.
More than half of local councils are exposing their constituents to the threat of card fraud.
That’s according to the findings of a Freedom of Information Act request from card processing consultancy CPRAS, which discovered that more than half of public authorities are failing to meet security standards.
What councils should be doing
A decade ago a worldwide standard was established for all businesses or organisations that accept payments by card. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was designed to help cut card fraud, through tight controls around the storage, transmission and processing of cardholder data.
The PCI DSS consists of 12 requirements, which include installing and maintaining a firewall to protect cardholder data, encrypting sensitive information, using (and updating) anti-virus software and restricting access to that personal data, both digitally and physically. Security systems should also be regularly tested.
Unfortunately more than half of our local councils have admitted they are still not compliant with the standard.
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What that means for you
Many of us have used a debit or credit card to pay our local council for something, whether that’s Council Tax, parking fines or tickets for events at your local town hall.
[SPOTLIGHT] However, as our councils aren’t adequately protecting our details, should they suffer some form of security breach whether from hackers or a rogue member of staff, we could be at risk of card fraud or even identity theft.
Graham Hallewell, owner and CEO of CPRAS, warned that the consequences are potentially catastrophic, as a data breach would not only expose us to cyber theft, but may impede the councils’ ability to function at all.
Card fraud and ID theft are already on the rise, according to Financial Fraud Action UK, as a result of a jump in ‘mail non-receipt fraud’. This is where criminals steal mail from communal postal areas in order to get hold of your personal details. For more read Stolen mail fuelling rise in card fraud.
The Local Government Association didn't respond to our requests for comment.
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