Isle of Wight schools affected by the recent ransomware attack are now undertaking a data collection exercise.
This process would usually happen at the start of term to ensure the data they hold on file is up to date and ready for the start of the autumn term.
Following the cyber-attack last month, access to all of the schools’ recorded information has been frozen. Some data has been provided back to the school by the local authority in line with data sharing agreements in place. This includes earlier collected contact information for parents/carers of pupils.
Get in touch with schools
As email addresses for the schools have been suspended, parents who do not receive contact (due to changes in circumstances since earlier contact information was collected) are asked to get in touch with their school using the following email addresses to request a data collection form:
• Hunnyhill Primary School — through Class Dojo.
• Lanesend Primary School — [email protected]; [email protected]
• Barton — [email protected]
• Isle of Wight Education Federation (IWEF) — Please email any enquiries about the incident to [email protected]. For all other school enquiries, please use [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]
Reported to the ICO
The incident has been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and we are working closely with them to resolve any Data Protection issues arising.
The council continues to work with the schools, police and a cyber security firm that specialises in this sort of attack to investigate what might be done to retrieve the lost data.
Focus on smooth start of term
The schools involved are focused on ensuring the start of term runs as smoothly as possible and are working tirelessly to this end.
The schools are grateful for the patience, support and involvement of parents/carers/students in helping them to rebuild their systems ready for September.
Digital health tips for parents and students
Everyone can improve their cyber security by taking these simple actions:
- Use a strong password.
- Create passwords using three random words.
- Turn on two-factor authentication.
- Update your devices.
- Back up your data.
More information can be found on the National Cyber Security Centre website.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
Image: christiaancolen under CC BY 2.0
