Be Cyber Aware: Cyber attacks and transparency. A no blame culture
This article is about cyber attacks and data breaches that may go unreported due to the misconceptions about how organisations might respond to them. The NCSC recently published an article about why transparency around cyber attacks is a good thing for everyone.
The NCSC and the ICO may work on a cyber attack together if an incident brings down a business, severely impacts national services and infrastructure or massively disrupts people's data-to-day lives, however they consider that a large number of attacks may go unreported. The article talks about a number of myths:
Myth 1 - If I cover up an attack everything will be OK - of course it won't. Every successful cyber attack that is hushed up, with no investigation or information sharing, makes other attacks more likely because no one learns from it. Keeping your cyber incident a secret doesn't help anyone except the criminals.
Myth 2 - Reporting to the authorities makes it more likely the incident will go public. Your confidentiality will be respected and both the NCSC and ICO don't proactively make information public, or share it with regulators without your consent. Remember your regulatory responsibilities.
Myth 3 - Paying the ransom quickly to get the decryption key and restore services doesn't always help.
Myth 4 - I've got offline backups, I won't need to pay a ransom.
Myth 5 - If there is no evidence of data theft, you don't need to report to the ICO. You should always start from the assumption that it has been taken.
Myth 6 - You'll only get a fine if your data is leaked. This isn't necessarily the case. A personal data breach is more than just a loss of data.
The full report is here: Why more transparency around cyber attacks is a good thing for everyone
We would always encourage staff to report any cyber attacks and data breaches. Visit our Information & Cyber Security Best Practice Library for support and guidance. Raise awareness with staff through training, posters and discussion. Having a 'no blame' culture will encourage staff to report issues.
Ensure you have a Cyber Response Plan: Cyber Response Processes.
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.
Preserving evidence is as important as recovering from the crime.
Forward suspicious emails to