Governing bodies have a strategic oversight of all of a school or trust's strategies, including cyber security and data protection.

🎄We've updated our end of term and end of year guidance, alongside advice for privacy considerations for special occasions (which also normally occur at the end of term, such as Christmas).

📃 A digital technology contracts register is a lit of all the contracts in your organisation with external suppliers for the supply of digital technology products and services.

🍂 The DfE have published several updates to the DfE Digital Standards, updating the Filtering and Monitoring Standards, the Digital Leadership & Governance Standards and the Broadband Internet Standards for Schools and Colleges. We give our view on what that means and more details about the updates.

🎦 CCTV systems play a critical role in maintaining safety and security in organisations.  In schools, for example, it might help deter inappropriate behaviour, prevent unauthorised access and damage to property.

📢 A special school in Devon has been the victim of a cyber attack and is being blackmailed by hackers.

In a Malwarebytes blog, author Mark Beare explains how your child's data can be stolen, and even more so if you have given medical  or health data.

🌑🗃️💻 Dark data is data that is unused but still might be stored somewhere in an organisation, usually kept in unstructured and unsecured repositories or storage.

While we are focusing on cyber security and cyber resilience in October, Ofqual is reminding schools and colleges of the importance of cyber security after a poll highlighted the risks associated with poor cyber hygiene.

We are often asked for advice on where to search for information and data when you receive an information request. The ICO has published a checklist with guidance.

Sadly, we are letting you know about another cyber attack on a group of schools in Blackpool in the second week of term.

📢 We would like to announce that Data Protection Education are sponsoring the data protection discussion forum with the Association of Network Managers in Education.