Edinburgh schools targeted in cyber attack as pupils passwords reset
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Schools in Edinburgh have been targeted in a cyber attack, with all pupil's passwords being reset.
Edinburgh Council said they noticed 'unusual e-mail activity' on their network on Friday. In response, passwords across the network have been changed, reports the Daily Record.
This comes as pupils study for their exams, with many blocked out of revision resources. Children have been told to visit their schools on Saturday morning to be issued with a new password.
An Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: "On the afternoon of Friday May 9, we noticed some unusual e-mail activity on our schools and early years IT network. As a precaution, we have had to make the difficult decision to immediately reset all passwords across this network, including those of our students/learners.
"This means that learners studying for exams this weekend do not currently have access to Teams or One Note resources. Learners can access their personal revision materials by going to their school tomorrow (Saturday May 10) between 10.15am and 12 noon and a member of staff will issue them with a new password."
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A phishing attack is a type of cybercrime where criminals use deceptive tactics, often through email or text messages, to trick individuals into revealing personal information or clicking on malicious links, ultimately aiming to steal money, sensitive data, or gain access to systems.
It comes after a criminal investigation into a suspected ransomware attack on West Lothian schools was launched earlier this week. The council was alerted to the cyber attack on Tuesday afternoon.
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Schools across the council area were able to continue to operate after contingency plans were introduced. Ransomware is a type of malware which prevents someone from accessing a device and the data stored on it, usually by encrypting files.
Criminal groups will demand a ransom in exchange for decryption. In recent weeks both the Co-op and Marks and Spencer have seen trade disrupted after hackers broke into their IT causing shortages in stores and stalling online ordering.
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