Schools across Lancashire, UK, have been hit by a cyberattack, affecting most of their computer systems. Dean Logan, CEO of the UK-based Fylde Coast Academy Trust, confirmed that the Blackpool-based trust had fallen victim to ransomware, which compromised the organization’s IT infrastructure and severely limited system accessibility. Within hours of the attack, the trust received support from the government’s risk protection arrangements, and a cybersecurity team was engaged to support the trust recovery plan,” said Mr Logan.
“It will take several days before services start to be restored and the full impact is understood.”
During this time, the trust reverted to non-IT-based processes to meet statutory and regulatory duties and quickly acted to mitigate the reduced functionality in classrooms with the use of mobile networks. “Our focus remains in providing the highest possible care and education for pupils during this recovery,” Mr Logan added. Leaders, teachers, support staff, and pupils have responded very positively and with resilience.
The skills and knowledge learned during the COVID-19 pandemic have provided reassurance and confidence in dealing with this challenge.
Telephone lines were quickly re-established but with reduced capacity. “We will keep all stakeholders updated as systems are restored. Priority will be given to core services first,” said Mr Logan.
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More on the Ransomware disrupt of education in Lancashire
“Advice and guidance are being provided and shared with staff, pupils, and parents/carers actively as we receive it. We expect to see the restoration of key services start next week.
However, full restoration will take several weeks to remove the ransomware completely.”
We are very grateful for the support being received, the offers of support from the local authority, other school trusts, and our school communities, who are all pulling together to beat this challenge,” he concluded. Dr. Darren Williams, CEO and Founder of Blackfog, commented: “The term ‘Back-to-school’ is not only a source of anxiety for children returning from their summer break but also for education officials facing more cybersecurity challenges than ever before.
With another set of schools falling victim to ransomware, the weaknesses and shortcomings of traditional cybersecurity tools that many organizations continue to rely on are becoming increasingly apparent.”
In this instance, all ten schools in the Blackpool trust have been forced to revert to manual processes due to the attack,” Dr. Williams added. “Unfortunately, education continues to top the ransomware leaderboard, with August showing a 12% increase over the previous month.
The government urgently needs to invest in more advanced cybersecurity technologies within this sector to keep pace with attackers’ rapidly evolving tactics and protect sensitive student data.
