Hackney Mayor says council payments are secure after reported data breach in nearby Islington

Mayor Philip Glanville says all payment systems comply with industry standards

Hackney Council has confirmed that none of its services require credit card details to be sent over email following an alleged security breach in neighbouring Islington.

A BBC report last week revealed that Islington Council asked a resident to share their card’s security code, along with their address and other details, in a Word document attached to an email – a violation of data protection rules, according to an expert.

The alleged breach related to a payment system for parking bay suspensions, which Islington has now suspended and put under review.

When Hackney Council was asked if it had ever made a similar request, Mayor Philip Glanville said no services require card details by email and all payment systems comply with industry standards.

He said anyone who is asked by the council to provide their card details over email should contact its data protection officer.

“To our knowledge, there are no council services that request credit card details to be sent by email,” Mayor Glanville explained. “Where possible we have been reducing the amount of cash handled by the council and are supporting residents to make all payments online or over the phone.

“We ensure that all our payment systems comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and regularly conduct checks and audits to ensure payments are secure.

“If anyone is asked by the council to provide credit card details by email they should contact our Data Protection Officer.”

If you have any questions or concerns, you can email Hackney Council’s data protection officer at dataprotection@hackney.gov.uk.