Council worker's pension fund 'almost certain' to be targeted by hackers

Avon Pension head says 'robust systems' are in place to deal with cyber attacks.

Author: Chris TatePublished 5th Sep 2024

The head of a pensions fund supporting some council staff from South Gloucestershire has warned it's almost certain to be targeted by hackers.

Avon Pensions has more than 135 thousand members from the former county area.

Head of pensions at the fund, Nick Dixon, says a critical cyber attack tops its latest 'risk register' - but plans in place to protect against threats and deal with any impacts.

He said: “I think in most public and private sector organisations, if you do a risk register, cyber is right up top.”

But he added: “We have got a very robust set of systems in place to mitigate and that is the critical thing.”

Under the fund’s risk framework, “almost certain” means there is an 81–100% likelihood of an attack happening, while “likely” means there is a 51–80% chance of it having a critical impact. In December 2022, an attack was rated “unlikely” but it was changed to “almost certain” in May 2023 and has remained at that level since.