Salford council is set to spend £2.5m overhauling its computer system in an urgent bid to protect itself from cyberattacks.
Thousands of computers used by town hall staff work on a Windows 7 operating system, which will reach the end of its life in January.
Systems still using this operating system will become ‘vulnerable to cyber-attack,’ council papers say, as Microsoft will no longer produce security updates.
Documents going to the town hall’s procurement board on Wednesday recommend spending £2.5m on the overhaul.
The money also includes £250,000 on IT hardware, as services from joint venture Urban Vision are brought in-house from February.
If it’s signed off by the procurement board, the contract would be supplied by Nottingham-based IT company XMA.
Council documents say that ‘competitive pricing has been secured’.
Failing to go ahead with the move - which would see 2,125 devices replaced - would be a ‘false economy,’ they say.
“These devices must be replaced as a matter of urgency and before Microsoft support for Windows 7 ceases in January 2020,” they add.
“The business of the council must not be put at risk of cyber-attacks which threaten data and the closure of those systems, and the serious legal financial and reputational consequences which flow.”
Funding for the upgrade of these devices has been secured via capital investment in the technology refresh budget and use of the earmarked reserve to support transformation.
The risk assessment is considered to be high.
Gloss