This article was originally published in January 2023, but has been updated with some additional information, following further ransomware attacks on schools in the UK. Highly confidential documents from 14 schools in the UK have been leaked online by hackers.  The Vice Society has been behind a high-profile string of attacks on schools across the UK and the USA in recent months.

This article is about cyber insurance in the public sector, particularly in relation to schools.  Cyber insurance is a special type of insurance intended to protect businesses from internet-based risks, and more generally risks relating to information technology infrastructure and activities.  It is also known as cyber liability insurance or cyber risk insurance. 

This article is about a recent cyber attack on Leytonstone School.  The school in Waltham Forest has been closed since half term after it was targeted and a significant amount of personal data was accessed.

The school is still closed to all pupils other than those taking their GCSEs because the school currently does not have a single central record (SCR), sometimes referred to as a single central register.  An SCR is a statutory requirement for all schools and academies i

A reprimand has been issued by the ICO to Parkside Community Primary School in relation to the infringements of Article 5 (1)(f), Article 24 (1) and Article 32 of the UK GDPR. This article discusses the reprimand and looks and what schools can do to avoid this type of breach.

Some of the information in the reprimand document is redacted, but the main details are:

A Dorchester school has recently suffered a cyber attack in the form of a Ransomware attack.
Following the attack the school has been left unable to use email or accept payments.
The school is working with the National Cyber Security Centre and the police to resolve the issue. The full article can be read here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-65685607
The school remains open, with teaching adapted as needed and exams continuing as planned.

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This article is about the different user types available on the Knowledge Bank and what they have access to.
Details about how to add users onto the Knowledge Bank can be found in the Using the Knowledge Bank Best Practice Library: How to add users to the Knowledge Bank

A Wiltshire secondary school has been severely affected by a targeted attack by hackers who demanded a ransom to restore access to its IT network.  The attack affected the school's local server, its website, internet access, Wi-Fi, printers and internal phone systems.

A full report can be read here: https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/23476464.hacker-demands-ransom-taking-control-wiltshire-schools/

The school's website was still down several days later.  An updat

This article is linked to a series of articles about different types of Cyber Attacks. They can be viewed in the Information/Cyber Security News section of the Data Protection Education website or as part of the Information & Cyber Security Best Practice Area. Each article discusses a different type of cyber attack, steps to try to minimise the risk and guidance.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines insider threat as the threat that an insider will

This article covers ways in which cyber criminals profit from their cyber crimes.  Often we might think our data, if it is not financial, is not interesting or profitable to hackers, so this article discusses the different types of data that are stolen and why.

Financial data is the main data type that we all think of when considering why a hacker might steal information.  Financial data can be sold to various individuals for different purposes. It is not uncommon for t

The headteacher of a grammar school has left her role after sending parents a list of the teachers going on strike.

The Headteacher at King Edward VI Five Ways Grammar school in Birmingham  had been headmistress for just 18 months when an email she sent to parents is alleged to have named some teachers who would be striking during the planned walkouts last month.

With the increase in Cyber crime against schools in the UK we are focusing in on what can be done to help prevent cyber crime in a way mangeable for school budgets.