An external cybersecurity company was completing a forensic investigation, but there is no further information about the data breach.
Who are BlackSuit?
It is now known that the ransomware gang, BlackSuit has claimed the attack on the school where it alleges to have stolen over 200GB of data which includes information on students and employees, as well as financial data. BlackSuit seems to have carried out a double-extortion attack by encrypting systems and stealing data.BlackSuit first emerged in April 2023 and is a rebrand of the ransomware group, Royal. BlackSuit is a private operation and doesn’t employ a ransomware-as-a-service business model.
Located in Biggin Hill, Kent, Charles Darwin School is home to around 1,320 secondary and sixth form students. The school is part of the Inicio Educational Trust which was formed in September 2023.
Sources of information: Comparitech and The Record
Improving Cyber Resilience
We would urge all schools and multi academy trusts to work on their cyber resilience, firstly by training their staff and making cyber awareness part of the organisation's ethos. Secondly, we would recommend reviewing the DfE Digital Standards. Our customers have access to a free Leadership & Governance Tracker to assess where you are with your digital strategy and Cyber Security Best Practice Area. If you would like access to this and other trackers, further information can be viewed:
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
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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