A vibrant, illustrative graphic announces "SOCIAL MEDIA DAY!" in large, bold letters, with "SOCIAL" in white and "MEDIA DAY!" in orange. Below this, "June 30th" is displayed in an orange rectangular box. The central focus is a large, purple smartphone, angled slightly to the right, with a bright screen populated by various 3D social media icons floating around and seemingly interacting with it.  These icons include:  A yellow star  A pink speech bubble  A golden bell  A red heart  A blue folder icon with a mountain and sun image  A blue paper airplane  A yellow envelope with a letter  A red location pin  A blue magnifying glass  A red play button triangle  Two blue speech bubbles, one with three dots and another with a smiley face  There are also several expressive emoji faces floating around the phone:  A large, yellow smiling face with closed eyes on the phone screen.  A red heart-eyes emoji.  A slightly mischievous, winking emoji with a tongue out.  A happy emoji with closed eyes and rosy cheeks.  At the bottom left, a circular logo states "DATA PROTECTION OFFICER BY" around an emblem featuring a stylized person figure protecting data, with "DATA PROTECTION EDUCATION" written beneath it and a URL "HTTPS://DATAPROTECTION.EDUCATION". The background is a gradient of blue, with darker shades at the bottom and lighter at the top, along with some abstract cloud-like shapes.

Social Media Day 2025

📲👍It's Social Media day today - now an integral part of our daily lives both personally and at work. We take a look at some privacy considerations and acceptable use.

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Image of a microphone with a title "Episode 3 records management"

Podcast Episode 3: Records Management and Retention

This podcast episode delves into the often-overlooked but crucial topic of records management within the school environment. It breaks down the lifecycle of a record from creation to disposal, highlighting the legal framework schools operate within, including the Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR, and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The episode also explores the consequences of non-compliance, the importance of a robust Records Management Policy, and the specific considerations for handl

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Podcast Episode 1 - data protection training for school staff

Podcast Episode 1 - data protection training for school staff

Join us for our first DPE podcast! Data Protection Training for School Staff

This podcast episode provides an overview of the Data Protection Education's 2024 training update, focusing on the legal framework and practical guidance for data protection in the workplace. The discussion covers key definitions like UK GDPR, Data Controller, Data Processor, Personal Data, and Data Protection Officer. It also highlights the importance of data protection in preventing breaches and fostering a strong

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photo of hands holding a shining padlock.  School's almost out for Summer in orange text on blue back ground. Cyber and data protection checklist. What's your plan for when you're not there in black text. Data Protection office by Data protection education logo

Holiday Cheer or Cyber Fear? : Essential Pre-holiday Checks

😎☀️ Did you know there is an increase in cyber attacks on a long weekend, half term and end of term, so a period of heightened cyber risk.  This article gives some advice about what you need to have in place - it's particularly important that you are able to monitor your network during the long Summer break.

Read more …

photo of a hand holding a phone with whatsapp on the screen. Beige background and black text: What's up with WhatsApp? Emma Martins, Chief Commissioner of the Data & Marketing Commission and Data Protection Education have teamed together to give you a comprehensive overview of the risks, recent cases and guidelines about using WhatsApp.

Preschool Employment tribunal for the use of WhatsApp

📳What's Up with WhatsApp? WhatsApp is a regular theme in relation to SARs, FOI's, data breaches and general use as tickets into our Knowledge Bank platform.  Emma Martins, Chief Commissioner of the Data and Marketing Commission has worked with us to produce some guidance following the recent employment tribunal that was published in relation to a preschool.

Read more …

Photo of a masked man at lots of computer screens.  Blue text on a white background:

Social engineering + impersonation = Fraud ≡ cyber deception

Fraud is deception used to gain something valuable (money, goods, services or information) from someone else's dishonesty. We are seeing a lot of blended cyber attacks in the news currently where social engineering might then be combined with an impersonation followed by a ransomware attack, in order to take data and/or money.

Read more …

Photo of a shadow behind some computer code. Blue background and white text: Education & business comparisons. Navy background and blue text: Gov.uk Cyber security breaches survey 2025. Data Protection Education logo

Data Breaches 2025 Report Highlights

The GOV.UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 is out and reveals that 43% of UK businesses and 30% of charities experienced a cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months.  We review and highlight some key data protection points.

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AI generated photo of the back of a  computer screen with hands on a keyboard. Blue padlock with white text saying: Not everyone should have access.  White background and black text: The key to protecting sensitive data : least privilege. Recent dismissal case in Nottinghamshire

Not everyone needs access: The Key to Protecting Sensitive Data

🚫🔒 Sensitive data requires a higher level of security under UK GDPR because of its potential to cause significant harm to individuals if it is lost, stolen or misused.  A recent case of a teacher losing their job after accessing a safeguarding report and transcribing it to her personal computer highlights the both the importance for least privilege access and continual review of access.

Read more …

Photo of a computer network and lots of spiders on a white background.  Black text: The Scattered Spider Web. Data Protection Education DPO badge

Getting caught in the Scattered Spider web

🛡️🕷️ The Scattered Spider is a fast-growing group of cyber attackers currently on the attack and possibly attributed to the recent attack on M & S - they don't just break in and grab one thing, they like to cause as much chaos as possible and then ask for a ransom.

Read more …

Photo of a cat with leopard markings laying down on a white background underneath black text: Password Day, we suggest not using your pet's name for passwords! Data Protection Education DPO badge

World Password Day

🔒 It's World Password Day - a reminder to check how secure your passwords are and where you store that information.  There's a lot of password help and advice out there which can be confusing.  We highlight the basic things you need to be thinking about.

Read more …

Photo of blocks and notepads with the words, honesty, integrity, values and ethics in red ink. Above the photo in white on black: National Honesty Day: How transparent is your organisation?

National Honesty Day: Transparency

⚖️🛡️ National Honesty Day, although one day to highlight the importance of honesty, it reminds us of how importance truth is in the realms of data protection and cyber security and how it should be part of an organisation's fundamental beliefs and ethos.

Read more …

Photo of glasses, the letters 'FOIA' in red, Freedom of information black text on white background.  BBC News Reporter request, DAta Protection Education DPO badge

FOI Request - BBC News

This article shares advice we have given to several customers who have received an FOI request from the BBC News about conducting research into the challenges of handling harmful sexual behaviour in schools.

Read more …

Ludo pieces on a board on white background. Blue text: New Governor resources, Governors: data protection & cyber security course, governance frameworks: data protection, cyber governance code of practice. Data Protection Education logo and DPO services badge

New Governor Resources

📢🏛️ We've published some new resources for governing bodies about data protection and cyber security.  Governors can be added to our Knowledge Bank platform as part of your subscription with us at no extra charge.

Read more …

Image of circles with people in and finger pushing one on a world map in blue.  World backup Day 2025 in Blue. Data Protection Education logo

World Backup Day

🔄☁️ Having a robust backup is being prepared against data loss and data theft.  March 31st is World Backup day to remind everyone of the importance of having a robust and accessible backup.

Read more …

Transparent image of a teacher at the front of a class teaching children.  Robot holding AI in blue letters. Text in blue and black: 83% teacher say AI is a time saver. Data Protection Education logo

Are teachers using AI? 83% say its a time-saver

🤖🕒 Most meetings we are having with schools at the moment feature conversations and questions around the use of AI by staff in  organisations.  It's clear the landscape is rapidly evolving and education may not be moving as fast, however, it does help to be prepared.

Read more …

Robot hand pointing to opt out check box. Arbor AI in orange text, On by default in white text. Data Protection Education logo. Blue background

Arbor AI - On By Default

💻 ⚠️ Arbor recently announced that it was including some AI as part of it's default configuration - some customers have raised questions about this with us.

Read more …

Background photo of digital folders around a shield in blue and white. A bag of money in a trolley. Text says procuring a new MIS. Data Protection Education logo

DfE Guidance: Choosing a new MIS

✅📃 An MIS (management information system) is a critical part of the school's day to day operations and digital infrastructure.  They can be on premise or in the cloud, which means contract terms can differ.  We highlight the latest guidance alongside what is already data protection law - you should follow this, even if you are procuring your MIS through your local authority or third party IT provider.

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photo of a girl sitting on a stack of books, a camera lens in the background. Navy text: Sharing photos on World Book Day privacy considerations. Data Protection Education logo

Sharing photos on World Book Day: Privacy considerations

📸✅ It's World Book Day on the 6th March when most schools will be celebrating reading and capturing photos of staff and students in their costumes.   Given this is one of many significant photographic events in the calendar, we thought it was a good opportunity to remind everyone of photo and video best practice.

Read more …

Text: HCRG Data Breach. Photo of a hand coming out of a laptop holding a red key

HCRG Care Group data breach

Some of our customers have been affected by the data breach reported by the HCRG Care Group.  The group is currently investigating claims by a ransomware group that more than two terabytes of sensitive information has been breached.

Read more …

  1. Apple removes its highest level data security tool from UK customers
  2. The Importance of AI literacy and training staff
  3. How to verify visitors the right way
  4. Short Guide to AI Video
  5. Safer Internet Day, Cyber Security & Data Protection
  6. The Cyber Resilience Championship
  7. The Multiple Dimensions of Supplier Due Diligence
  8. School shares sensitive pupil information as part of an FOI response
  9. AI (Artificial Intelligence) Best Practice Area & Policy
  10. Blacon High School Cyber Attack
  11. WhatsApp and FOI's: ICO Warnings
  12. New AI Guidance from the DfE
  13. The role of Passkeys in Cyber Resilience and Cyber Security
  14. What the proposed Government legislative proposal around cyber crime means
  15. ICO report on AI tools in recruitment
  16. DfE update to record keeping and management
  17. Update to data sharing for school immunisation programmes
  18. Early Years Settings and Cyber Security
  19. SLT Digital Lead Profile
  20. Ransomware-Resistant Backups
  21. The role of governors in cyber security and data protection
  22. Navigating Privacy at the End of Term , Special Occasions and End of Year
  23. Effectively communicating during a cyber incident
  24. Contracts Register
  25. South East Technological University has experienced a cyber incident
  26. Safeguarding Identity in Microsoft 365: Protecting the UK Education Sector Against Cyber Threats
  27. DfE Digital Standards Autumn Update
  28. The importance of knowing how to access your CCTV footage!
  29. Cyber Attack on a Special School
  30. Stealing children's data
  31. What is dark data? (and why does it matter?)
  32. Ofqual highlights the value of cyber security training in schools
  33. Searching for data when you receive a Subject Access Request
  34. Fylde Coast Academy Trust Cyber Attack This Week
  35. Calling all IT leads in schools and mult academy trusts!
  36. Ransomware cyber attack on a school in Bromley
  37. Join Our Social Media Family!
  38. School hit by Cyber Attack
  39. Cyber Security Best Practice Area
  40. DfE Digital Standards for Schools and Colleges Tracker
  41. New Policies, Documents, Letters and Posters page
  42. Schools and Trusts Best Practice Area
  43. The DPE Retention Schedule
  44. Making the Rounds Update (now includes reporting)
  45. ESFA Cyber Essentials Requirement for Colleges from 2024/2025
  46. ICO Reprimands a School
  47. How does the recent global IT outage affect me?
  48. King's speech introduces new bills in relation to cyber security, smart data and digital information
  49. Out of date technology
  50. Data Retention and the Pupil File
  51. Have you assigned your SLT Digital Lead yet?
  52. What's a Cyber Incident and what should we do?
  53. Getting Started with AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  54. Cyber attack on a school during half term
  55. Free short cyber training for staff
  56. Update to the DfE Digital Cyber Security Standards for Schools and Colleges (May 2024)
  57. The rise of cyber attacks in schools are causing pupils to miss classes
  58. ICO: Learning from the mistakes of others report
  59. Children's mental health data leaked after a cyber attack
  60. Cyber attack on a Trust; the aftermath
  61. School Focus: The Vale Federation | Aylesbury
  62. DfE Dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) Guidance
  63. Update to the Guidance on Information Sharing from the DfE
  64. FOI Requests generated by Artificial Intelligence
  65. Social Media Best Practice Area
  66. Lettings Best Practice Area
  67. MFA Bombing - What is it?
  68. Protecting your Social Media Accounts
  69. Why we recommend using checklists
  70. Product Focus on Checklists : Initial Trust Plan
  71. Product Focus on Checklists : End of Term Checklist
  72. Product Focus on Checklists : Information and Cyber Security
  73. Product Focus on Checklists : Social Media
  74. Cyber Incident Review: The Benefits
  75. Product Focus on Checklists : Lettings
  76. Product Focus on Checklists : Record of Processing
  77. Milk Island: The secret location that allows children to view restricted content on Google Maps
  78. Why Data Should Stay Put: Benefits of Keeping Data in Its Original System
  79. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Retention and Destruction
  80. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Migration
  81. Product Focus on Checklists : Biometrics
  82. Product Focus on Checklists : Supplier Due Diligence
  83. Free Cyber help, advice and training with the Cyber Resilience Centres
  84. The Perils of Paper: The Printing Vulnerability
  85. Product Focus on Checklists : FOI
  86. Product Focus on Checklists : Governors and Data
  87. Product Focus on Checklists : DPIA
  88. Product Focus on Checklists : Site Moves
  89. Product Focus on Checklists : Data Breaches
  90. Product Focus on Checklists : Subject Access Requests
  91. Cyber attack on a University
  92. Product Focus on Checklists : Bring your own device
  93. Product Focus on Checklists : Working out of school/offsite
  94. Cyber Attack on a School
  95. Product Focus on Checklists : Redaction
  96. Major cyber-criminal gang Lockbit brought down by UK Law Enforcement
  97. Why Due Diligence is Important: Fake apps
  98. Product Focus on Checklists : CCTV
  99. Product Focus on Checklists : Clear desk
  100. Product Focus on Checklists : Commitment to compliance
  101. Product Focus on Checklists : Photos and video
  102. Product Focus on Checklists : Passwords
  103. Product Focus on Checklists : Information Classification
  104. Safer Internet Day 2024
  105. Kent Councils Data Breach
  106. Free cyber training for staff
  107. DfE Digital Standards Update
  108. The Mother of all Breaches
  109. ClassCharts Possible Data Breach
  110. Where is your data stored?
  111. IAPP looks at AI privacy risks
  112. If you suspect a financial scam .....
  113. Guardians of Privacy: 16. Social Media Checklist
  114. Guardians of Privacy: 15. Navigating Social Media in Educational Settings Summary
  115. Guardians of Privacy: 14. Social Media and Cyber Bullying
  116. Guardians of Privacy: 13. Social Media, Copyright and Intellectual Property
  117. Guardians of Privacy: 12. Social Media and Going Viral
  118. Guardians of Privacy: 11. Staff Social Media Accounts
  119. Guardians of Privacy: 10. Social Media and Cookies
  120. Guardians of Privacy: 9. Social Media and Morality
  121. New Resources for Schools from the ICO
  122. Guardians of Privacy: 8. Social Media Policies
  123. Guardians of Privacy: 7. Social Media Data Retention
  124. Guardians of Privacy: 6. Posting Safely
  125. Guardians of Privacy: 5. Social Media and Consent
  126. Guardians of Privacy: 4. Social Media Access Control
  127. Guardians of Privacy: 3. Social Media Channels
  128. Guardians of Privacy: 2. Law and Regulations
  129. Guardians of Privacy: 1. Social media, privacy and children
  130. Latest ICO Reprimand. Mr. S. Claus, Chief Executive Officer, North Pole Enterprises
  131. Phishing attacks targeting schools - alert from City of London Police
  132. The ICO reprimands a Multi Academy Trust
  133. Guidance for the use of school email and applying email retention in schools
  134. CISA and UK NCSC Announce Joint Guidelines for Secure AI System Development
  135. Data Protection Tips for Early Years Settings
  136. Children's Privacy around the world is a puzzle
  137. Trust Initial Plan Checklist Update
  138. Update on Advisory for Rhysida Ransomware
  139. Records Management Best Practice Update
  140. The Crime in a Cyber Attack and a Data Breach
  141. What do I need to redact?
  142. NCSC Annual Review is published for 2023
  143. Learning from Data Breaches
  144. Windows 11 security ineffective against attacks on old devices
  145. Trust Initial Plan for Data Protection Compliance (for Multi Academy Trusts)
  146. International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2023 Joint Statement
  147. Google for Education Resources: Helping IT Admins meet DfE digital and technology standards
  148. Resistant Cloud Backups
  149. Top Ten Cyber Security Misconfigurations
  150. Lettings Best Practice and Guidance
  151. ICO Reprimand: company suffered a ransomware attack
  152. The UK Online Safety Bill becomes an Act (Law)
  153. Considerations when migrating to a new MIS
  154. The importance of software updates (PaperCut vulnerability and Rhysida ransomware)
  155. Public bodies and sensitive data
  156. Adding offline bulk training using the Certificates function
  157. Ransomware, extortion and the cyber crime ecosystem
  158. Get a DPE Badge for your website!
  159. ICO: 10 Step guide to sharing information to safeguard children
  160. Cyber Resource: The Cyber Resilience Centre Group
  161. Email and Security: ICO recent guidance
  162. Help after a Cyber Attack/Incident
  163. Social Media Policy
  164. Data Protection and Cyber Security (Inset Day) Training Ideas
  165. Changes to Microsoft Free Licensing for Schools
  166. What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack
  167. Cyber Crime: AI Generated Phishing Attacks
  168. Handling Freedom of Information Requests the right way
  169. Cyber Attack: Exam Boards
  170. VICE SOCIETY - Ransomware attacks on schools
  171. Using Tags if you are a group of organisations in the DPE Knowledge Bank
  172. Where's Harry the Hacker?
  173. Be Cyber Aware: USB Sticks
  174. Cyber Insurance in the Public Sector
  175. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDos Attack (Microsoft DDoS Attack in June)
  176. Cyber Attack: Leytonstone School
  177. The ICO Reprimands a school
  178. Be Cyber Aware: Firewalls
  179. Be Cyber Aware: Cyber attacks and transparency. A no blame culture
  180. Cyber Attack: Dorchester School
  181. Knowledge Bank Role Types: Admin, Staff and Trustee
  182. Types of Cyber Attacks: Password Attacks
  183. Be Cyber Aware: Why regular software updates are important
  184. Cyber Attack: Wiltshire School
  185. Keeping your IT systems safe and secure
  186. Types of Cyber Attacks: DDoS Attacks
  187. Types of Cyber Attacks: Phishing
  188. Types of Cyber Attacks: The Insider Threat
  189. Why your data is profitable to cyber criminals
  190. Using WhatsApp in Schools
  191. The Changes to Data Protection in the UK
  192. Knowledge Bank Updates
  193. Types of malware and how they are linked to data protection
  194. Striking Data Breach
  195. IPR Protection Email Scam
  196. Windows Server 2012 & 2012 R2 Retirement
  197. How to contact us for support, subject access requests, data breaches and FOI's
  198. YouTube breached child protection laws
  199. How a school fought back after a cyberattack
  200. Types of Cyber Attacks - Credential Stuffing
  201. January Cyber update - How Can Schools Help Prevent Cyber Attacks?
  202. Assigning courses to staff using to-dos
  203. How the Record of Processing Can Help You
  204. Information Security Basics: What are VPN's?
  205. What does a Data Protection Officer Do?
  206. Are you ready for a Data Breach?
  207. Carrying out Supplier Due Diligence
  208. How Long Should You Keep Personal Data For?
  209. The Education sector now at highest risk of cyber attacks
  210. How to Assess your Data Security
  211. Schools Blocked from Using Facial Recognition Systems
  212. The Children's Code
  213. B&H FoI: Racist/religious incidents/bullying
  214. Cyber Attacks
  215. Protocol for Setting Up and Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning
  216. Class Dojo International Data Sharing
  217. Model Publication Scheme: Amendments, Improvements and Updates
  218. Child friendly privacy notices
  219. Transparency
  220. SAR? ER? FOI?
  221. Secure file transfer of files using Royal Mail
  222. Emergency contacts and consent
  223. Key elements of a successful DPIA
  224. FOI Publication Schemes
  225. SHARE: Avoid disinformation online
  226. Best Practice for Managing Photos and Video
  227. New Drip Feeds: Recognise and Respond to Subject Access Request
  228. When to contact the Data Protection Officer?
  229. National child measurement programme
  230. Make sure DPE is your registered DPO with the ICO
  231. Compliance Manager released
  232. Headteacher fined for breach of data protection legislation
  233. Emails – good practice and minimising the risk of a data breach

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