hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 10. Social Media and Cookies

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 9. Social Media and Morality

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

Yellow background. Young child in front of a laptop with their hands over their face

New Resources for Schools from the ICO

The ICO has recently published a new set of resources for schools.  They are for teachers to use when discussing privacy issues and the value of personal data.  The kit includes lesson plans which explain what counts as personal data and why it is valuable and how to keep it safe.  The resources are free to download and use.

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 8. Social Media Policies

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 7. Social Media Data Retention

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 6. Posting Safely

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 5. Social Media and Consent

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 4. Social Media Access Control

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 3. Social Media Channels

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 2. Law and Regulations

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

hand holding a mobile phone with social media icons on it. Litus Digital logo and Data Protection Education logo. Guardians of Privacy: Navigating social media in educational settings in blue text.  A series of articles about social media, privacy and schools in black text.  Coloured pencils at the bottom

Guardians of Privacy: 1. Social media, privacy and children

This article is one of a series written by Data Protection Education in collaboration with Litus Digital, a social media management company.  The articles came about from questions asked by Data Protection Education's customers, our own experience of working in education,  as school governors, parents and data protection professionals.  The articles raise questions about how social media can be used as safely as possible in a school environment,  security consideratio

Read more …

Latest ICO Reprimand. Mr. S. Claus, Chief Executive Officer, North Pole Enterprises

Latest ICO Reprimand. Mr. S. Claus, Chief Executive Officer, North Pole Enterprises

REPRIMAND

To: Mr. S. Claus, Chief Executive Officer, North Pole Enterprises

Of: North Pole The Information Commissioner (the Commissioner) issues a reprimand to North Pole Enterprises (‘Santa Claus’) in accordance with Article 58(2)(b) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation in respect of certain alleged infringements of the UK GDPR. 
The reprimand
The Commissioner has decided to issue a reprimand to North Pole Enterprises i

Read more …

Phishing in blue text on a computer screen background which is black

Phishing attacks targeting schools - alert from City of London Police

The City of London Police is warning schools across the UK to be vigilant against phishing attacks targeting school networks. Multiple schools have reported receiving suspicious emails containing malicious attachments that have infected their networks with malware.

Once infected, the school's email systems are used to send malicious attachments to other schools.

You don't have a pdf plugin, but you can download the pdf file.


Help and Advice against Phi

Read more …

The word reprimand in orange in an orange rectangle on a blue background with the word data breach in blue

The ICO reprimands a Multi Academy Trust

The ICO has recently published a reprimand for a multi academy trust.  The reprimand was issued in respect of Articles 5 (1) (f) and 32 (1) (b).  An unauthorised third party utilised compromised credentials to access and encrypt their systems.

Read more …

Lots of computer screens showing different things on a blue background all linked together

KCSIE: Filtering, Monitoring and Privacy

The recent update to the Keeping Children Safe in Education Document obliges schools and colleges in England to “ensure appropriate filters and appropriate monitoring systems are in place and regularly review their effectiveness”.

Read more …

School children wearing blue shirts and grey skirts in a class room

Children's Privacy around the world is a puzzle

The IAPP recently wrote an article about how organisations and lawmakers are striving to protect the online safety of children and teens in today's advance digital environment.  They find themselves working to solve a 'puzzle' that tries to balance varying legal jurisdictions and cultural considerations.

Read more …

Hooded person over a computer. Text Cyber Aware. Blue padlock over a username and password.  Data Protection Education DPO badge

Update on Advisory for Rhysida Ransomware

We have previously reported how the Rhysida Ransomware has focused on attacking the education sector.  Recently the CISA, FBI and MS-ISAC have released a new joint Cyber Security Advisory to disseminate known Rhysida ransomware indicators of compromise, detection methods, tactics, techniques and procedures identified through recent investigations.

Read more …

man in a blue suit with a blue padlock hovering above his hands.  The word governance in white text on a blue background

Governors and Data Best Practice Area Update

The Governors and Data Best Practice area has been updated with some new content from the Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies.  There is a training video: 'Protecting Yourself and Your School from Cybercrime' and a pdf of the slides from the video. There is input for school governors to highlight the risks presented by cyber crime and the resources and support available to help you improve your organisation's cyber security.

Read more …

Cartoon of a criminal dressed in black with black hat, cyber criminal in orange on their chest, climbing out of a computer carrying a yellow computer folder on their shoulder

The Crime in a Cyber Attack and a Data Breach

As a data protection officer we are seeing a rise in the number of cyber attacks on organisations.  We often find that the fact an actual crime has been committed is sometimes overlooked in the panic and need to recover data and get operations back up and running.  According to the National Crime Agency (NCA) cyber crime continues to rise in scale and complexity, affecting essential services, businesses and private individuals.  Cyber crime costs the UK billions of pounds, causes

Read more …

NCSC Annual Cyber Review in white text, 2023 in white text on a blue background.  Background is a tunnel of computer screens (like going through a black hole)

NCSC Annual Review is published for 2023

The National Cyber Security Centre looks back at it's key developments and highlights over the last year in it's 2023 annual review. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ, is the UK’s technical authority for cyber security.

Read more …

data breach in orange computer text on a computer screen with computer code

Learning from Data Breaches

The British Computer Society (BCS) has recently published the biggest data leaks of 2023.  The leaks cover worldwide cyber attacks, but the lessons learned apply to organisations of all types all around the world.  The data breaches include The Guardian Newspaper, LastPass password manager, Royal Mail, MOVEit, Microsoft, The UK Electoral Commission.

Read more …

Hands typing on a laptop. Laptop screen shows view of the Compliance manager which is part of the Data Protection Education Knowledge Bank portal.

Trust Initial Plan for Data Protection Compliance (for Multi Academy Trusts)

We launched our Schools Best Practice area at the beginning of this term which includes specific guides and support for schools.  There is also a specific area for Trusts and the Central Team.  The Trusts Central Team section is a specific area for additional requirements and guidance for the central team of a trust and should be used in conjunction with the other tabs in the best practice area.  

Read more …

Dark hooded person working on a laptop with a beam of a padlock and a password field.  Be Cyber Aware in white cyber text and the Data Protection Education DPO services badge in the bottom right

International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2023 Joint Statement

Several countries have pledged never to pay cyber criminal ransoms and to collectively work toward disrupting their financial systems.  The members affirmed their joint commitment to building their collective resilience to ransomware.  They will share data on ransomware perpetrators and techniques and establish a blacklist of information about digital wallets used to facilitate ransomware payments.

Read more …

  1. Google for Education Resources: Helping IT Admins meet DfE digital and technology standards
  2. Resistant Cloud Backups
  3. Top Ten Cyber Security Misconfigurations
  4. Lettings Best Practice and Guidance
  5. ICO Reprimand: company suffered a ransomware attack
  6. The UK Online Safety Bill becomes an Act (Law)
  7. Considerations when migrating to a new MIS
  8. The importance of software updates (PaperCut vulnerability and Rhysida ransomware)
  9. Public bodies and sensitive data
  10. Adding offline bulk training using the Certificates function
  11. Ransomware, extortion and the cyber crime ecosystem
  12. Get a DPE Badge for your website!
  13. ICO: 10 Step guide to sharing information to safeguard children
  14. Cyber Resource: The Cyber Resilience Centre Group
  15. Email and Security: ICO recent guidance
  16. Help after a Cyber Attack/Incident
  17. Social Media Policy
  18. Data Protection and Cyber Security (Inset Day) Training Ideas
  19. Changes to Microsoft Free Licensing for Schools
  20. What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
  21. Cyber Crime: AI Generated Phishing Attacks
  22. Handling Freedom of Information Requests the right way
  23. Cyber Attack: Exam Boards
  24. VICE SOCIETY - Ransomware attacks on schools
  25. Using Tags if you are a group of organisations in the DPE Knowledge Bank
  26. Where's Harry the Hacker?
  27. Be Cyber Aware: USB Sticks
  28. Cyber Insurance in the Public Sector
  29. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDos Attack (Microsoft DDoS Attack in June)
  30. Cyber Attack: Manchester University
  31. Cyber Attack: Leytonstone School
  32. The ICO Reprimands a school
  33. Be Cyber Aware: Firewalls
  34. Be Cyber Aware: Cyber attacks and transparency. A no blame culture
  35. Cyber Attack: Dorchester School
  36. Knowledge Bank Role Types: Admin, Staff and Trustee
  37. Types of Cyber Attacks: Password Attacks
  38. Be Cyber Aware: Why regular software updates are important
  39. Cyber Attack: Wiltshire School
  40. Keeping your IT systems safe and secure
  41. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDoS Attacks
  42. Types of Cyber Attacks: Phishing
  43. Types of Cyber Attacks: The Insider Threat
  44. Why your data is profitable to cyber criminals
  45. Using WhatsApp in Schools
  46. The Changes to Data Protection in the UK
  47. Knowledge Bank Updates
  48. Types of malware and how they are linked to data protection
  49. Striking Data Breach
  50. IPR Protection Email Scam
  51. Windows Server 2012 & 2012 R2 Retirement
  52. How to contact us for support, subject access requests, data breaches and FOI's
  53. YouTube breached child protection laws
  54. How a school fought back after a cyberattack
  55. Types of Cyber Attacks - Credential Stuffing
  56. January Cyber update - How Can Schools Help Prevent Cyber Attacks?
  57. Assigning courses to staff using to-dos
  58. How the Record of Processing Can Help You
  59. Information Security Basics: What are VPN's?
  60. What does a Data Protection Officer Do?
  61. Are you ready for a Data Breach?
  62. Carrying out Supplier Due Diligence
  63. How Long Should You Keep Personal Data For?
  64. The Education sector now at highest risk of cyber attacks
  65. How to Assess your Data Security
  66. Schools Blocked from Using Facial Recognition Systems
  67. Sharing this year’s Nativity play online
  68. The Children's Code
  69. B&H FoI: Racist/religious incidents/bullying
  70. Cyber Attacks
  71. Protocol for Setting Up and Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning
  72. Class Dojo International Data Sharing
  73. Model Publication Scheme: Amendments, Improvements and Updates
  74. Child friendly privacy notices
  75. Transparency
  76. Parents and students covertly recording conversations
  77. SAR? ER? FOI?
  78. Secure file transfer of files using Royal Mail
  79. Emergency contacts and consent
  80. Key elements of a successful DPIA
  81. FOI Publication Schemes
  82. SHARE: Avoid disinformation online
  83. Best Practice for Managing Photos and Video
  84. New Drip Feeds: Recognise and Respond to Subject Access Request
  85. When to contact the Data Protection Officer?
  86. National child measurement programme
  87. Make sure DPE is your registered DPO with the ICO
  88. Compliance Manager released
  89. Headteacher fined for breach of data protection legislation
  90. Emails – good practice and minimising the risk of a data breach

Search

Keep in the Know!

Get our latest news directly to your inbox

Privacy notice