Council offers reassurance over election data after Electoral Commission cyber attack
A council has moved to reassure the public that election data has not been compromised.
The Shropshire Council statement comes after the Electoral Commission revealed that it had been victim of a cyber attack and had suffered a data breach.
The Shropshire authority said its systems are "safe, have not been compromised, and are not linked to the Electoral Commission".
The announcement by the Electoral Commission has come as Shropshire Council has commenced the annual canvass to ensure that Shropshire’s electoral register is as up-to-date as possible.
The annual canvass is a legal process that the council must complete each year.
It means the council must contact all households to check that voter details in each household are correct on the electoral register, and ensures that all residents who are eligible to vote are on the electoral register, and those who are not are removed.
Andy Begley, Shropshire Council’s Electoral Registration Officer, said: "I want to reassure voters in Shropshire that the council takes the protection of people’s data seriously, and that our systems are safe and are not linked to the Electoral Commission.
“As such we urge everyone to support the annual electoral canvass as they normally do and follow the instructions sent by the council to ensure the electoral register for Shropshire is as accurate as possible.”
