Strengthening Scotland's Local Government Cyber Resilience

Cyber security is no longer simply an IT issue. It is fundamental to the delivery of public services, the protection of citizen data and the resilience of councils themselves. 

Over the last decade, councils have faced an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape. From ransomware and supply chain attacks to growing regulatory requirements and evolving digital services, local authorities have had to strengthen their ability not only to prevent attacks but also to respond and recover when incidents occur. 

For the Digital Office, cyber resilience has always been about helping councils work together, learn from one another and build capability collectively. By sharing expertise, resources and practical support, councils have been able to build cyber maturity in ways that would have been more difficult and costly to achieve individually. 

How we got here 

When the Digital Office was established in 2016, cyber resilience quickly emerged as one of the most important, shared challenges facing Scottish local government. As councils accelerated their digital transformation journeys, the need for stronger security, assurance and preparedness became increasingly clear. 

Over time, the role of the Digital Office evolved from providing advice and connections to actively helping shape national policy, influencing cyber standards and supporting local authorities through real-world incidents. The creation of the Chief Information Security Officer role strengthened this work further, providing a focal point for collaboration across the sector. 

As national expectations increased, the Digital Office worked closely with the Scottish Government, The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Cyber Scotland Partnership and other partners to ensure local government had a strong voice in the development of cyber strategy, guidance and resilience frameworks. 

What we've achieved 

Over the last ten years, the Digital Office has helped establish a stronger and more coordinated approach to cyber resilience across Scottish local government. 

Key achievements include: 

• Supporting the development of Scotland's Cyber Resilience Strategy 2025-2030, ensuring local government needs and realities were reflected in national policy. 

• Delivering strategic and operational cyber incident exercises for councils, helping chief executives, directors, heads of service and operational teams rehearse responses to major cyber incidents. Exercises have involved more than 100 participants and provided valuable lessons for future preparedness.  

• Developing cyber exercise packs, templates and guidance that enable councils to run their own exercises and strengthen their local resilience capabilities.  

• Creating post-cyber attack attestation guidance to support consistent recovery processes and provide confidence to partner organisations following incidents.  

• Providing advice, coordination and support during significant cyber incidents affecting local authorities and their supply chains, helping organisations maintain communication and recover more effectively.  

• Continuing to provide cyber and technical assurance for national digital programmes that affect local government and helping ensure security is considered from the outset.  

These activities have improved incident readiness, reduced duplication, avoided costs and strengthened resilience across the sector.  

How we worked together 

None of this progress has been achieved alone.