Ofqual is reminding schools and colleges of the importance of
cyber security after a poll highlighted the risks associated with
poor cyber hygiene.
The prompt comes as a Teacher Tapp survey found 1 in 3 secondary
teachers did not have cyber security training, in the last
academic year.
Ofqual's Executive Director of General Qualifications Amanda
Swann said:
Losing coursework that is the result of many hours of hard work
is every student's nightmare. Even more distressing is losing a
whole class or year group's coursework because of weak cyber
security on a school or college IT system.
Many schools and colleges take cyber security seriously, but this
poll highlights that there is more to be done. I would encourage
schools and colleges to visit the National Cyber Security
Centre's school resource guide to learn how to defend against
cyber attacks.
The poll, which surveyed teachers across England, also found
that:
-
34% of schools and colleges in England experienced a cyber
incident during the last academic year
-
most commonly, 23% of schools and colleges in England
experienced a cyber security incident due to a phishing
attack
-
the north-west was hit hardest, with 40% of schools which
responded having had a cyber incident, compared with 28% in
the east of England
-
20% could not recover immediately, with 4% taking more than
half a term to recover
-
9% of headteachers said the attack was critically
damaging
-
1 in 3 teachers have not had cyber security training this
year — of the two-thirds who have had training, 66% said it
was useful.
Teachers who had experienced a cyber incident were asked how it
affected them, their colleagues and students.
One teacher said:
[It happened] last summer before results days. From then on, all
teaching staff were unable to access anything, so could not
prepare for the year.
When back in school, we could not use the desktops and there were
not enough laptops.
This went on for weeks and was utter chaos.
Another teacher said:
[It] caused a dip in belief about the security of our systems and
led to difficult conversations with parents.
For practical tips designed for schools on how to defend against
cyber attacks, visit the National
Cyber Security Centre school resources page.
