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Dear colleague
Welcome to the ninth edition of the LGA’s Cyber, Digital and Technology Bulletin.
Connected Places is one of the key digital trends we have seen emerging in recent years. Local authorities are increasingly deploying this technology to boost productivity, create jobs, and make public services more efficient and accessible for the benefit of local communities.
Last year, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (formerly DCMS) carried out a survey on UK connected places. The survey highlighted that councils across the UK have ambitious plans to deploy connected places technologies with 92 per cent of the 173 authorities responding to the survey sharing that they either already do or have an ambition to manage connected places technologies.
Alongside all the benefits, connected places also result in increased security risks. Risks from an expanded and interconnected attack surface, risks from the supply chain, and vulnerabilities introduced by automating infrastructure operations need to be managed. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), at its Annual CYBERUK Conference last month, published new guidance outlining cybersecurity best practices for smart cities. If your authority is looking to manage connected places technology, please adopt this guidance to ensure we keep our councils and communities safe. Further details are included in this bulletin.
Later in this bulletin, you can read a roundup of the latest alerts issued by the NCSC, including Snake Malware threats from Russian Cyber Actors as well as an alert on an emerging threat to critical national infrastructure organisations (CNIs).
Please do remain vigilant and get in touch if you would like any LGA support. We have a host of resources on our webpages including a free eLearning module on Embedding Cyber Resilience in Local Government Supply Chains.
This bulletin also features the latest news from the Local Digital team at the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC), including its survey on the Local Digital Declaration. Please do get in touch with the Local Digital team to share your views.
If you need any further information or would like to arrange a conversation with our team, please email cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk
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Owen Pritchard
Head of Cyber, Digital and Technology
Local Government Association
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Free eLearning: Embedding cyber resilience in local government supply chains
This free online course has been designed to support councils to embed greater cyber resilience in their procurement processes and supply chains. Based on the NCSC’s supply chain security principles, it is tailored to the local government context and is aimed at officers working across any stage of the procurement cycle. Please do share it with colleagues for whom it may be useful.
LGA Cyber 360 programme – take part in Cyber 360s
We are calling for more councils to take part in our Cyber 360 programme. These free sessions give councils the opportunity to explore cyber security through a different lens. A multi-disciplinary team of peers and technical experts will provide your council with in-depth, bespoke support, helping it build capabilities and develop a holistic approach to cyber security. We are aiming to support another 20 councils over the next few months. To benefit from this opportunity, please contact cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk to book in a short introductory meeting with our team.
LGA Cyber 360 – Call for Volunteers!
We are offering council officers the chance to join a Cyber 360 team. You will work with a council for two or three days, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, offering peer support and advice. It is an opportunity to support another council while also developing your own knowledge of cyber security. If you have a CISSP or CISM qualification, we are happy to contribute a supporting letter to help you meet your annual mandatory CPD requirements. We are currently seeking officers to join two Cyber 360s this June.
Here’s what one of our fantastic volunteers said about their recent 360 experience: “it allowed a deeper dive into the risk regime of a council, a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented at the local level and an appreciation of the differing approaches both within and across councils.”
If you are interested in joining or would like to discuss this opportunity in further detail, please contact us at cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk or complete our form.
 Local Government Technology Conference and Exhibition 2023
We were delighted to present at the Local Government Technology Conference and Exhibition in London on 27 April. Programme Manager Rebekah Wilson spoke alongside Phil Rumens from West Berkshire Council and Lingjing Yin from Royal Borough of Greenwich on delivering local government digitalisation to increase operational efficiency and improve public services, chaired by Kira Allmann from Manchester City Council.
Digital divide: Poorer households left behind in broadband race during cost-of-living crisis
The LGA’s new report on digital exclusion finds that households in the most deprived parts of England are less likely to be able to get fixed broadband which supports the fastest possible speeds, with access to fixed broadband 15 percentage points lower in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived. The full report is available on our website.
If you are interested in joining the LGA’s Digital Inclusion Network, please email cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk
‘A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’ consultation
The LGA, Socitm and Solace want to hear your views on the Government’s proposals for a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation.
We are hosting two roundtables (capped at 8 participants for each meeting) to go through the proposals and gather reflections from the sector of the impact on local government. The roundtables will take place on Wednesday 7th June from 12pm-1.30pm and Thursday 8th June from 12pm-1.30pm.
To register, please contact jenny.mceneaney@local.gov.uk.
NCSC issues cyber security best practice guidance for Connected Places
At the CYBERUK 2023 conference, the NCSC and its international partners published a new guide setting out the cyber security best practices for creating connected places. It highlights connected places (or smart cities) have the potential to offer cost savings and quality-of-living improvements to communities but notes these benefits must be balanced with an assessment of the risks. These risks include an expanded and interconnected attack surface, risks from the supply chain and vulnerabilities that can be introduced by automating infrastructure operations. Councils considering adopting connected places technologies are encouraged to consult this new guidance to understand the risks and how to mitigate them.
UK and allies expose Snake malware threat from Russian cyber actors
The UK and international allies issued a joint advisory revealing technical details about Snake malware and its variants. This has been a core component in Russian espionage operations and has been used to collect sensitive information from specific targets, such as government networks, research facilities and journalists. Organisations are strongly encouraged to read the technical information about Snake malware and implement the mitigations.
NCSC warns of emerging threat to critical national infrastructure
The NCSC has issued an alert to critical national infrastructure organisations warning of an emerging threat from state aligned groups. While in the short term, any activity from the groups is likely to take the form of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, website defacements or the spread of misinformation, some groups have stated a desire to achieve a more destructive impact against western infrastructure. The NCSC’s heightened threat guidance was published shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, and organisations are encouraged to continue to follow it.
Cyber Essentials technical requirements v3.1 goes live
This month, NCSC released version 3.1 of the Cyber Essentials Requirements. All Cyber Essentials certifications starting on 24 April or after will be assessed using this version. To find out more, visit the NCSC webpage.
Essex County Council launch LEGO® in libraries project
Digital Essex, Essex Libraries and the Multiply programme have collaborated in an initiative to engage children in digital skills for future life, with introductions to basic coding. The project is a creative approach to collaboration and inspiring the next generation. Visit the Essex Libraries website to find out more.
Hackney Council share insights about their approach to integrating digital apprentices into their hiring landscape
In an interview with UKAuthority, Rob Miller, Strategic Director at Hackney Council shared insights into the council’s approach to recruiting digital apprentices. This approach ties into the council’s corporate commitment to supporting the development of a regional talent pipeline. He said: “… it’s been hard to hire people with IT and digital skills for a long time, but we’re now five years down the line with our apprenticeships and have really seen the impact in our teams”. For more information, visit the UK Authority website.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) launch their refreshed Digital Strategy
GMCA’s refreshed Digital Blueprint was unveiled by Andy Burnham and Cllr Eamonn O’Brien as part of DTX Manchester on the 17 May. The blueprint sets out Greater Manchester’s next chapter towards being a world-leading digital city region, centred on harnessing technology to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and collaboration with communities, businesses, academia and public sector to deliver on five key priorities.
DSIT 5G Innovation Regions - Pre-competition market engagement
The Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is inviting councils to provide feedback on a new £40 million funding programme to establish 8-10 5G Innovation Regions across the UK. This is part of a wider initiative by DSIT to make substantial investments in telecoms and wireless infrastructure, which puts the UK at the forefront of science and technology innovation. Councils interested in the plans are invited to submit a high-level overview of their potential proposal, including any early thinking/ambitions of their region. The submissions will not be part of a formal competition and assessment process and are in no way binding, but will help inform final competition details. For further information, please email 5gadoption-enquiries@dcms.gov.uk and, to submit your feedback, please complete this Google Form by 7 June 2023.
Applications open for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) connected places research project
DSIT is collaborating with Plexal on the second (beta) phase of a research project focused on the cyber security of connected places. Applications for local authorities to join the beta phase of testing are now open, closing at 5pm on Friday 23 June 2023. For more details on how to apply, visit the Plexal webpage.
Local Digital Declaration discovery project
Launched in 2018, the Local Digital Declaration set out the Local Digital team’s shared ambition for the future of local public services. Working with TPXimpact, they are currently undertaking a discovery project to understand the impact of the Declaration across the sector and gather recommendations on how to best use it going forward. They’ll be sharing regular updates on their progress. If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to share, please email campaigns@localdigital.gov.uk
Local Digital Sprint notes
Subscribe to Local Digital’s fortnightly Sprint Notes where you can find the latest news from the Local Digital team’s programmes and stay up-to-date with their grant funded projects including Future Councils, round six of the local digital fund as well as findings from the Local Government Cyber Assessment Framework pilot. You’ll also be able to hear their latest team news and share your feedback.
Take part in user research to help Local Digital improve its website
The Local Digital team is looking for volunteers from councils to take part in website research – specifically people who have never used its website before. If you would like to take part and help improve the website to better meet the needs of local government staff, please complete the application form. Interviews will be taking place until the end of May at a time and date of your choosing and will take no longer than one hour.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) publishes 2023 Cyber Security Breaches survey
The Cyber Security Breaches Survey is a research study for UK cyber resilience, aligning with the National Cyber Strategy. The study explores the policies, processes and approach to cyber security for businesses, charities, and educational institutions. It also considers the different cyber-attacks and cyber-crimes faced by these organisations, as well as how these organisations are impacted and respond. The survey was carried out across winter 2022/2023 and you can read the full report on the Government website.
Good Things Foundation launches new mapping tool for support services
The digital inclusion charity, Good Things Foundation, has launched a new map to help people find local and national support services. The map shows all the active Digital Inclusion Hubs delivering digital support services as part of the National Digital Inclusion network. It also features the many UK organisations helping people get online through schemes such as the National Databank, the National Device Bank and Learn My Way. Look at the map to find your local Digital Inclusion Hub or share with community organisations that may want to join the network and start delivering Good Things’ services. You can sign up to the network on the mapping webpage.
Using Generative AI in Local Government
The London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) is running a short survey to identify how generative AI (such as ChatGPT) is currently being used in local government, or how it might be in the future. To find out more and contribute your views, visit the LOTI website.
Socitm’s President’s Conference
Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 June, Hilton Brighton Metropole, Brighton
Socitm’s President Conference is returning this year in June. Taking place in Brighton, the event will explore some of the critical challenges and opportunities the sector is experiencing and will focus on designing out of difficult times and revolutionising the use of technologies and data. For further information and registration, visit the Soctim webpage.
Digitech23 Conference
Wednesday 21 June 2023, Charter Suite, Manchester Central
Digital First, the official Crown Commercial Service conference for technology and technology procurement specialists across Government and the Public Sector, is taking place in Manchester on 21 June. The focus of the conference will be ‘Digital First – Supporting the next generation of public services’ and will feature speakers from DLUHC, Socitm, GMCA and other senior leading public sector technology representatives. For further information and registration, visit the event booking page.
Connected Britain 2023
Wednesday 20 September – Thursday 21 September, ExCel, London
This event brings together figures in the UK’s connectivity market driving Britain’s digital economy. Taking place across two days, this event offers an opportunity to explore the future of the UK’s connectivity landscape. The event is free for public sector staff to attend. The Connected Britain Awards is also taking place to recognise the most significant and innovative organisations, solutions and programmes shaping Britain’s digital future and applications for nominations are currently open. For further information and registration, visit the Connected Britain webpage.
Cyber, Digital and Technology Team: cyberanddigital@local.gov.uk
For more information visit our Cyber and Digital hub
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