Image of circles with people in and finger pushing one on a world map in blue.  World backup Day 2025 in Blue. Data Protection Education logo

🔄☁️ Having a robust backup is being prepared against data loss and data theft.  March 31st is World Backup day to remind everyone of the importance of having a robust and accessible backup.

Transparent image of a teacher at the front of a class teaching children.  Robot holding AI in blue letters. Text in blue and black: 83% teacher say AI is a time saver. Data Protection Education logo

🤖🕒 Most meetings we are having with schools at the moment feature conversations and questions around the use of AI by staff in  organisations.  It's clear the landscape is rapidly evolving and education may not be moving as fast, however, it does help to be prepared.

Robot hand pointing to opt out check box. Arbor AI in orange text, On by default in white text. Data Protection Education logo. Blue background

💻 ⚠️Arbor recently announced that it was including some AI as part of it's default configuration - some customers have raised questions about this with us.

Background photo of digital folders around a shield in blue and white. A bag of money in a trolley. Text says procuring a new MIS. Data Protection Education logo

✅📃 An MIS (management information system) is a critical part of the school's day to day operations and digital infrastructure.  They can be on premise or in the cloud, which means contract terms can differ.  We highlight the latest guidance alongside what is already data protection law - you should follow this, even if you are procuring your MIS through your local authority or third party IT provider.

photo of a girl sitting on a stack of books, a camera lens in the background. Navy text: Sharing photos on World Book Day privacy considerations. Data Protection Education logo

📸✅ It's World Book Day on the 6th March when most schools will be celebrating reading and capturing photos of staff and students in their costumes.   Given this is one of many significant photographic events in the calendar, we thought it was a good opportunity to remind everyone of photo and video best practice.

Text: HCRG Data Breach. Photo of a hand coming out of a laptop holding a red key

Some of our customers have been affected by the data breach reported by the HCRG Care Group.  The group is currently investigating claims by a ransomware group that more than two terabytes of sensitive information has been breached.

Black and grey background with white visitor badge with black text: Visitor and Data Protection Education logo on the badge.  How to verify it white text. Visitors in blue text on an orange background.

✅🔍 We visit a lot of schools and have a lot of conversations about documentation we are asked to provide as new and returning visitors to organisations. Sometimes we don't agree with what the organisation is asking for, so we thought we'd give some clarification about regulatory requirements.

blue text a quick guide to: AI in black text. Blue robot dog. Data Protection education logo

🎥🤖  Some of the organisations we are talking to are a little confused about AI, whether they should use it and if their staff already are using it or not.  We've put together a short video explaining the different types of AI, the risks and how you should start documenting your use.

Safer Internet Day official art work, coloured orange and blue text: Safer Internet Day, Cyber Security, Data Protection. Data Protection Education logo

🛡️🔒We couldn't get through today without mentioning it's Safer Internet Day today (11th February).  And while we don't need a special day to talk about being safe online, cyber security and data protection, we welcome any chance to highlight how important they all are.

New ICO data protection fees

Using a statutory instrument on Jan 27th 2025, the Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has increased the data protection fees to be paid by data controllers.
Tier 1 (micro organisations) from £40 to £52; Tier 2 (small and medium organisations) from £60 to £78; Tier 3 (large organisations) from £2,900 to £3,763. This change will come in from February 27th 2025 and will be charged when your payment is next due.

A reminder for

WhatsApp icon on a mobile phone, blue text of Freedom of Information. Data Protection Education logo

📲💬 We come across many organisations using WhatsApp as a communication tool with staff regularly and have previously highlighted some of the risks.  The ICO have recently published information about a case where WhatsApp messages had to be included in a Freedom of Information Request.

  1. New AI Guidance from the DfE
  2. The role of Passkeys in Cyber Resilience and Cyber Security
  3. What the proposed Government legislative proposal around cyber crime means
  4. DPE Webinar Schedule
  5. ICO report on AI tools in recruitment
  6. DfE update to record keeping and management
  7. Update to data sharing for school immunisation programmes
  8. Early Years Settings and Cyber Security
  9. SLT Digital Lead Profile
  10. Ransomware-Resistant Backups
  11. The role of governors in cyber security and data protection
  12. DfE Digital Standards Webinars 2025
  13. Navigating Privacy at the End of Term , Special Occasions and End of Year
  14. Effectively communicating during a cyber incident
  15. Contracts Register
  16. South East Technological University has experienced a cyber incident
  17. Safeguarding Identity in Microsoft 365: Protecting the UK Education Sector Against Cyber Threats
  18. DfE Digital Standards Autumn Update
  19. The importance of knowing how to access your CCTV footage!
  20. Cyber Attack on a Special School
  21. Stealing children's data
  22. What is dark data? (and why does it matter?)
  23. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 31. On the road to cyber essentials
  24. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 24. Backups
  25. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 30. Support
  26. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 29. Admin controls
  27. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 28. Phishing
  28. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 27. Passwords
  29. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 26. Physical Security
  30. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 25. Server Security
  31. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 23. Filtering and Monitoring
  32. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 22. Hardware: Printers
  33. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 21. Hardware: Asset Control
  34. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 20. Hardware: Safe disposal
  35. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 19. Anti-virus/anti-malware
  36. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 18. Regular Updates
  37. Christmas Pre-Holiday Cyber Check!
  38. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 17. Access Control (Users)
  39. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 16. Access Control (Wi-Fi/Network access)
  40. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 15. Access Control (working from home/off site)
  41. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 14. Access Control (MFA)
  42. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 13. Awareness
  43. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 12. Training
  44. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 11. Policies and Procedures
  45. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 10. Assess where you are with cyber security
  46. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 9. A guide for education providers
  47. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 8. How can your organisation prevent Ransomware attacks?
  48. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 7. What does a Ransomware attack on a school look like?
  49. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 6. Cyber Action Plan
  50. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 5. Responsibilities
  51. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 4. What to do in a cyber attack
  52. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 3. Data Security
  53. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 2. Privacy Protection
  54. October is Cyber Security Awareness Month: 1. Why is cyber security important?
  55. Ofqual highlights the value of cyber security training in schools
  56. Searching for data when you receive a Subject Access Request
  57. Fylde Coast Academy Trust Cyber Attack This Week
  58. Calling all IT leads in schools and mult academy trusts!
  59. Ransomware cyber attack on a school in Bromley
  60. Join Our Social Media Family!
  61. School hit by Cyber Attack
  62. New Academic Year Kick-Off!
  63. New e-learning for 2024
  64. Cyber Security Best Practice Area
  65. DfE Digital Standards for Schools and Colleges Tracker
  66. New Policies, Documents, Letters and Posters page
  67. Schools and Trusts Best Practice Area
  68. The DPE Retention Schedule
  69. Making the Rounds Update (now includes reporting)
  70. ESFA Cyber Essentials Requirement for Colleges from 2024/2025
  71. ICO Reprimands a School
  72. How does the recent global IT outage affect me?
  73. King's speech introduces new bills in relation to cyber security, smart data and digital information
  74. Navigating Privacy at the End of Term , Special Occasions and End of Year
  75. Out of date technology
  76. Data Retention and the Pupil File
  77. Have you assigned your SLT Digital Lead yet?
  78. What's a Cyber Incident and what should we do?
  79. Getting Started with AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  80. Cyber attack on a school during half term
  81. Free short cyber training for staff
  82. UPDATE: The Upcoming Election and The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
  83. Update to the DfE Digital Cyber Security Standards for Schools and Colleges (May 2024)
  84. The rise of cyber attacks in schools are causing pupils to miss classes
  85. ICO: Learning from the mistakes of others report
  86. Children's mental health data leaked after a cyber attack
  87. Cyber attack on a Trust; the aftermath
  88. School Focus: The Vale Federation | Aylesbury
  89. DfE Dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) Guidance
  90. Update to the Guidance on Information Sharing from the DfE
  91. Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 (Education Institutions)
  92. Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 (Businesses and Charities)
  93. FOI Requests generated by Artificial Intelligence
  94. Social Media Best Practice Area
  95. Lettings Best Practice Area
  96. Appropriate filtering and monitoring definitions
  97. MFA Bombing - What is it?
  98. Protecting your Social Media Accounts
  99. Why we recommend using checklists
  100. Product Focus on Checklists : Initial Trust Plan
  101. Product Focus on Checklists : End of Term Checklist
  102. Product Focus on Checklists : Information and Cyber Security
  103. Product Focus on Checklists : Social Media
  104. Cyber Incident Review: The Benefits
  105. Product Focus on Checklists : Lettings
  106. Product Focus on Checklists : Record of Processing
  107. Milk Island: The secret location that allows children to view restricted content on Google Maps
  108. Why Data Should Stay Put: Benefits of Keeping Data in Its Original System
  109. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Retention and Destruction
  110. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Migration
  111. Product Focus on Checklists : Biometrics
  112. Product Focus on Checklists : Supplier Due Diligence
  113. Free Cyber help, advice and training with the Cyber Resilience Centres
  114. The Perils of Paper: The Printing Vulnerability
  115. Product Focus on Checklists : FOI
  116. Product Focus on Checklists : Governors and Data
  117. Product Focus on Checklists : DPIA
  118. Product Focus on Checklists : Site Moves
  119. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Breaches
  120. Product Focus on Checklists : Subject Access Requests
  121. Cyber attack on a University
  122. Product Focus on Checklists : Bring your own device
  123. Product Focus on Checklists : Working out of school/offsite
  124. Cyber Attack on a School
  125. Product Focus on Checklists : Redaction
  126. Major cyber-criminal gang Lockbit brought down by UK Law Enforcement
  127. Why Due Diligence is Important: Fake apps
  128. Product Focus on Checklists : CCTV
  129. Product Focus on Checklists : Clear desk
  130. Product Focus on Checklists : Commitment to compliance
  131. Product Focus on Checklists : Photos and video
  132. Product Focus on Checklists : Passwords
  133. Product Focus on Checklists : Information Classification
  134. Safer Internet Day 2024
  135. Kent Councils Data Breach
  136. Free cyber training for staff
  137. DfE Digital Standards Update
  138. The Mother of all Breaches
  139. ClassCharts Possible Data Breach
  140. Where is your data stored?
  141. IAPP looks at AI privacy risks
  142. If you suspect a financial scam .....
  143. Guardians of Privacy: 16. Social Media Checklist
  144. Guardians of Privacy: 15. Navigating Social Media in Educational Settings Summary
  145. Guardians of Privacy: 14. Social Media and Cyber Bullying
  146. Guardians of Privacy: 13. Social Media, Copyright and Intellectual Property
  147. Guardians of Privacy: 12. Social Media and Going Viral
  148. Guardians of Privacy: 11. Staff Social Media Accounts
  149. Guardians of Privacy: 10. Social Media and Cookies
  150. Guardians of Privacy: 9. Social Media and Morality
  151. New Resources for Schools from the ICO
  152. Guardians of Privacy: 8. Social Media Policies
  153. Guardians of Privacy: 7. Social Media Data Retention
  154. Guardians of Privacy: 6. Posting Safely
  155. Guardians of Privacy: 5. Social Media and Consent
  156. Guardians of Privacy: 4. Social Media Access Control
  157. Guardians of Privacy: 3. Social Media Channels
  158. Guardians of Privacy: 2. Law and Regulations
  159. Guardians of Privacy: 1. Social media, privacy and children
  160. Latest ICO Reprimand. Mr. S. Claus, Chief Executive Officer, North Pole Enterprises
  161. Phishing attacks targeting schools - alert from City of London Police
  162. The Data Protection And Digital Information Bill (DPADI)
  163. The ICO reprimands a Multi Academy Trust
  164. KCSIE: Filtering, Monitoring and Privacy
  165. Guidance for the use of school email and applying email retention in schools
  166. CISA and UK NCSC Announce Joint Guidelines for Secure AI System Development
  167. Data Protection Tips for Early Years Settings
  168. Children's Privacy around the world is a puzzle
  169. Trust Initial Plan Checklist Update
  170. Update on Advisory for Rhysida Ransomware
  171. Records Management Best Practice Update
  172. Governors and Data Best Practice Area Update
  173. The Crime in a Cyber Attack and a Data Breach
  174. What do I need to redact?
  175. NCSC Annual Review is published for 2023
  176. Learning from Data Breaches
  177. Windows 11 security ineffective against attacks on old devices
  178. Trust Initial Plan for Data Protection Compliance (for Multi Academy Trusts)
  179. International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2023 Joint Statement
  180. Google for Education Resources: Helping IT Admins meet DfE digital and technology standards
  181. Resistant Cloud Backups
  182. Top Ten Cyber Security Misconfigurations
  183. Lettings Best Practice and Guidance
  184. ICO Reprimand: company suffered a ransomware attack
  185. The UK Online Safety Bill becomes an Act (Law)
  186. Considerations when migrating to a new MIS
  187. The importance of software updates (PaperCut vulnerability and Rhysida ransomware)
  188. Public bodies and sensitive data
  189. Adding offline bulk training using the Certificates function
  190. Ransomware, extortion and the cyber crime ecosystem
  191. ICO: 10 Step guide to sharing information to safeguard children
  192. Schools under Cyber Attack: September 2023
  193. Cyber Resource: The Cyber Resilience Centre Group
  194. Email and Security: ICO recent guidance
  195. Help after a Cyber Attack/Incident
  196. Social Media Policy
  197. Data Protection and Cyber Security (Inset Day) Training Ideas
  198. Changes to Microsoft Free Licensing for Schools
  199. What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
  200. Cyber Crime: AI Generated Phishing Attacks
  201. Handling Freedom of Information Requests the right way
  202. Cyber Attack: Exam Boards
  203. VICE SOCIETY - Ransomware attacks on schools
  204. Using Tags if you are a group of organisations in the DPE Knowledge Bank
  205. Where's Harry the Hacker?
  206. Be Cyber Aware: USB Sticks
  207. Cyber Insurance in the Public Sector
  208. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDos Attack (Microsoft DDoS Attack in June)
  209. Cyber Attack: Manchester University
  210. Cyber Attack: Leytonstone School
  211. The ICO Reprimands a school
  212. Be Cyber Aware: Firewalls
  213. Subject Access Requests (SARs)
  214. Be Cyber Aware: Cyber attacks and transparency. A no blame culture
  215. Cyber Attack: Dorchester School
  216. Knowledge Bank Role Types: Admin, Staff and Trustee
  217. Types of Cyber Attacks: Password Attacks
  218. Be Cyber Aware: Why regular software updates are important
  219. Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023
  220. Cyber Attack: Wiltshire School
  221. Keeping your IT systems safe and secure
  222. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDoS Attacks
  223. Types of Cyber Attacks: Phishing
  224. Types of Cyber Attacks: The Insider Threat
  225. Why your data is profitable to cyber criminals
  226. Using WhatsApp in Schools
  227. The Changes to Data Protection in the UK
  228. Knowledge Bank Updates
  229. Types of malware and how they are linked to data protection
  230. Striking Data Breach
  231. Windows Server 2012 & 2012 R2 Retirement
  232. How to contact us for support, subject access requests, data breaches and FOI's
  233. YouTube breached child protection laws
  234. How a school fought back after a cyberattack
  235. Types of Cyber Attacks - Credential Stuffing
  236. January Cyber update - How Can Schools Help Prevent Cyber Attacks?
  237. End of Windows 8.1 Support
  238. Assigning courses to staff using to-dos
  239. How the Record of Processing Can Help You
  240. Information Security Basics: What are VPN's?
  241. What does a Data Protection Officer Do?
  242. Are you ready for a Data Breach?
  243. Blog: Best Practice on the Retention of Child Protection Information
  244. Carrying out Supplier Due Diligence
  245. Email and retention periods
  246. How Long Should You Keep Personal Data For?
  247. The Education sector now at highest risk of cyber attacks
  248. How to Assess your Data Security
  249. Schools Blocked from Using Facial Recognition Systems
  250. Sharing this year’s Nativity play online
  251. A quick introduction to the Phishing Simulation tool
  252. The Children's Code
  253. Recording vaccination of staff
  254. B&H FoI: Racist/religious incidents/bullying
  255. Cyber Attacks
  256. Protocol for Setting Up and Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning
  257. Class Dojo International Data Sharing
  258. Model Publication Scheme: Amendments, Improvements and Updates
  259. Child friendly privacy notices
  260. Transparency
  261. Parents and students covertly recording conversations
  262. SAR? ER? FOI?
  263. Secure file transfer of files using Royal Mail
  264. Emergency contacts and consent
  265. Key elements of a successful DPIA
  266. FOI Publication Schemes
  267. SHARE: Avoid disinformation online
  268. Best Practice for Managing Photos and Video
  269. New Drip Feeds: Recognise and Respond to Subject Access Request
  270. When to contact the Data Protection Officer?
  271. National child measurement programme
  272. Make sure DPE is your registered DPO with the ICO
  273. Compliance Manager released
  274. Headteacher fined for breach of data protection legislation
  275. Emails – good practice and minimising the risk of a data breach

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