The school advised that the ransomware attack was of international origin which encrypted and locked down their servers and network and left them unable to use the internet affecting critical systems used in daily operations.
The school did report the breach to the ICO and the National Cyber Security Centre. Unusually, the school published a detailed update on their own school website which detailed the attack and what they had done to try to determine whether staff, families and students data was affected. They also gave a dedicated email address to contact with any questions about the attack:
The Misbourne
The school also goes on to answer further questions and give further advice and support about the attack.
A cyber attack can be devastating to a school, not just in loss of data, but in the time and funds it takes to get back up and running. In this instance, the school has done a fantastic job in the way it has communicated information to those individuals whose data it holds and we wish them well in their recovery.
We can provide help and support around cyber resilience and cyber security, which includes a Best Practice Area and Checklists.
Answer a sample Information/Cyber Security checklist question:
What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
Incidents or attacks where any security breaches may have taken place, or other damage was caused, should be reported to an external body.
The SLT digital lead will be responsible for assigning someone to report any suspicious cyber incidents or attacks. This person will need to report this to:
- Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or the Action Fraud website
- the DfE sector cyber team at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You may also need to report to:
- the NCSC website if the incident or attack causes long term school closure, the closure of more than one school, or serious financial damage
- the ICO website within 72 hours, where a high risk data breach has or may have occurred
- your cyber insurance provider (if you have one), such as risk protection arrangement (RPA)
- Jisc, if you are a part of a further education institution
You must act in accordance with:
- Action Fraud guidance for reporting fraud and cyber crime
- Academy Trust Handbook Part 6, if you are part of an academy trust
- ICO requirements for reporting personal data breaches
Police investigations may find out if any compromised data has been published or sold and identify the perpetrator.
m. Preserving evidence is as important as recovering from the crime.
Forward suspicious emails to