Hackney LBC has dismissed a finding that it breached data protection law before records were lost in a cyber attack.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had issued the council with a reprimand after hackers accessed and encrypted 440,000 files in 2020.

It said its investigation found a lack of proper security and processes to protect personal data at the council, which led to hackers accessing records with residents' addresses, religious beliefs and sexual orientation.

Deputy ICO commissioner Stephen Bonner said: ‘This was a clear and avoidable error from Hackney LBC – one that has resulted in a mass loss of data and has had a severely detrimental impact on many residents.'

But a council spokesperson said: ‘We consider that the ICO has misunderstood the facts and misapplied the law with respect to the issues in question, and has mischaracterised and exaggerated the risk to residents' data.'