Cyber attack on Edinburgh schools disrupts exam revision

A cyber attack on schools in Edinburgh has left students locked out of online learning materials ahead of key exams.

The attack was detected on Friday afternoon when a member of staff noticed “unusual and suspicious” activity on the city’s schools and early years IT network.

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The breach has been described as "spear-phishing" - a targeted form of phishing where fraudulent emails target specific organisations in an effort to gain access to confidential information.

The council took the decision to reset passwords for all users as a “precautionary measure”, leaving staff and students unable to log into the network until they reset their password on their return to school.

Students currently sitting exams are being given “priority support” to reset their password so they can regain access to personal revision materials.

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The council has advised they can go to their school today (Saturday), between 10.15am and 2pm where a member of staff will issue them with a new password.

The council also confirmed that no data has been compromised as a result of the attack.

Education, children and families convener Councillor James Dalgleish said: “This afternoon vigilant colleagues noticed some unusual and suspicious activity on our schools and early years IT network.

“As a result, we took the precautionary decision to immediately reset passwords for all users across our education service.

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“We have contacted all parents, carers and schools to update them and explain the situation.

“I fully appreciate the impact this will have, particularly on those students preparing for their exams next week – but, unfortunately, we had no choice.

“This was a difficult but necessary decision to ensure our networks remain secure and protected.

“I want to reassure our students that they are our priority and that we are doing everything we can to make sure they can get back online as soon as possible.

“In the meantime, we are signposting them study support materials available elsewhere and individual schools will be uploading these to their websites too.

“We have created a dedicated webpage on the council website and will update this with further information as and when we get it.

“I’d like to thank colleagues for their vigilance and quick thinking today – and for their ongoing work over the weekend to minimise the impact on our students and their families.”

The attack follows a ransomware attack on the education network at West Lothian Council earlier this week All West Lothian schools have been affected.