Police and fire services are left exposed to cyber attacks by outdated IT and poor passwords, watchdog warns

Britain's police forces and fire services face serious cyber threats due to their reliance on ageing legacy IT and a failure to address basic human error, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services warned on Tuesday. Senior leaders in both sectors have identified obsolete technology as their single greatest cybersecurity risk, yet inspectors found that too little is being done to address it. The review spanned six organisations across England and Wales — three police forces and three fire and rescue services.

Several backup systems designed to restore operations after a breach were rated 'unsatisfactory' by inspectors.

Weak password practices, a lack of multi-factor authentication, and poor controls over staff joining and leaving organisations are leaving the door open to attackers.

Third-party IT contractors handling sensitive police data pose an additional hazard the report singles out as a growing vulnerability.