Cyber Attack Hits Suffolk Council: What Local Businesses Must Do to Stay Safe

Why This Matters Now

On 2 October 2025, Suffolk County Council’s website and several of its online services were taken offline by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. For hours, residents couldn’t pay council tax, apply for permits, or access public notices. A social media group later claimed responsibility, suggesting a coordinated campaign targeting East Anglia.

This incident is more than an inconvenience—it’s a wake-up call. If a well-resourced local authority can be disrupted, so too can Suffolk businesses.

What Is a DDoS Attack?

A DDoS attack works by flooding a website or network with fake traffic, overwhelming servers until they crash or slow to a crawl. Think of it like hundreds of people rushing into a shop at once: genuine customers are left waiting outside.

These attacks are usually powered by botnets—networks of hacked devices (from laptops to smart fridges)—and while the disruption may last minutes or hours, the damage to reputation and revenue can linger much longer.

Why Suffolk SMEs Should Care

• SMEs are prime targets – Smaller businesses often lack dedicated Cyber Security budgets, making them easier to attack.
• High stakes – Over 60% of SMBs hit by a cyber attack close within six months.
• Local relevance – With Ipswich, Felixstowe, Bury St Edmunds, and surrounding areas becoming increasingly digital, cybercriminals see Suffolk as fertile ground.

A Local Wake-Up Call

The Suffolk County Council outage proves that cyber resilience is no longer optional. Attackers don’t discriminate between councils, charities, or small businesses—they simply look for weaknesses.

For Suffolk SMEs, the lesson is clear: it’s not if you’ll be targeted, but when.

How to Protect Your Business

As IT Support providers and Cyber Security experts in Suffolk, we recommend a layered defence strategy:

✔ Penetration Testing – Simulate real-world attacks to identify vulnerabilities before criminals do.
✔ DDoS Mitigation Services – Deploy filtering tools that detect and block malicious traffic.
✔ Cyber Awareness Training – Equip staff with the knowledge to spot phishing attempts and suspicious activity.
✔ Incident Response Planning – Develop playbooks and run tabletop exercises so your team knows how to react under pressure.

Why Work with Corbel?

At Corbel, we’ve been supporting Suffolk businesses for over 30 years, providing trusted IT support and Cyber Security services tailored to the needs of local organisations.

We understand the challenges SMEs face—limited budgets, rapid digital change, and the growing threat of cybercrime. That’s why we offer:

• Local expertise – A team based right here in Suffolk, ready to help when you need us most.
• Proactive protection – From DDoS mitigation to penetration testing, we put robust defences in place before attacks happen.
• Tailored solutions – Scalable services designed for small businesses through to larger enterprises.
• Face-to-face phishing awareness training – Hands-on, interactive sessions that give your staff the skills and confidence to recognise and resist phishing attempts. Delivered in person, these sessions are proven to reduce the risk of human error—the most common cause of successful cyber attacks.

When Suffolk businesses need reliability, they turn to Corbel.

If you’d like to review your current Cyber Security setup or just have a no-pressure chat about where to start, get in touch with the team at Corbel. We’re here to help local businesses stay safe, secure, and resilient.

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Corbel Solutions are an Ipswich based IT Support Provider who work proactively throughout Ipswich and the wider Suffolk region including Felixstowe, Woodbridge, Newmarket, Sudbury. Providing a range of IT Support Services including Cyber Security and Cyber Security Training, Office 365 Support and IT Consultancy Services. To take a look at what others have had to say about us, check out our Google Review page. To find out more information or to have a chat with one of our team, feel free to give us a call on 01473 241515 or email us on info@corbel.co.uk. Or alternatively you can book in a call with one of our team members here.