Public bodies across the north and north-east have stepped up security and braced themselves for a repeat of the disruptive ransomware attack.
Aberdeen City Council and the two universities are among those to announce improved measures, although they were not caught up in the global threat.
In January, the local authority’s systems were hacked in a breach lasting two hours which cost more than £10,000 to fix.
Hacking group Team System DZ posted a cryptic single black page, which took over the entire website, and showed the silhouette of a man in a cowboy hat above the message “security stupidity.
Last night a council spokeswoman said: “Aberdeen City Council has not been impacted by the recent cyber security issues to date.
“We remain vigilant and have a dedicated technical and security team in place who are constantly scanning and monitoring our networks.
“As a matter of course, we remind our staff to be aware of potential threats at all times.”
Meanwhile both Aberdeen University and the Robert Gordon University (RGU) have written to staff and students asking them to stay vigilant.
A letter from Aberdeen University to undergraduates reads: “You may be aware of the global cyber security attack that is causing major disruption across many organisations.
“As yet, the university is unaffected and has left services running. Significant work is going on to protect our systems and data.
“However, at this time, can you please be especially vigilant and cautious in the e-mails that you are opening and links that you click on. It is likely that the infection is being spread through this medium.
“If you are in any doubt at all, please do not click or open questionable emails or click on links within them. ”
The University of the Highlands and Islands also confirmed that it had avoided any problems and “continues to remain vigilant”.
