An investigation has revealed that the hack which forced Penrith Town Council to shut down its social media pages earlier this year originated in America.
Deputy mayor Dave Knaggs told a town council meeting last night that there had been issues with security over Penrith Town Council’s social media accounts.
“In one instance, the council’s Facebook page was hacked with inappropriate post appeals seemingly to cause reputational damage,” said Mr Knaggs.
He added: “When that was investigated by a third party company, it appeared to have come from America.”
Mr Knaggs said although there was no real understanding about what the motivation was, the fact remained that they were hacked.
There had also been countless times when things had been posted on the council’s social media accounts which appeared to have come from outside organisations as well as business-like promotions being shared on its Facebook page.
It was agreed that Penrith Town Council should review its social media policy in order to ensure better engagement with the public in the future.
