Students across Edinburgh are facing significant disruption to their exam preparations after a targeted cyber attack struck the city’s schools on Friday, May 9th.
Digital criminals launched a sophisticated “phishing attack,” attempting to deceive individuals into clicking malicious links and compromising the school network.
The cyber assault, confirmed by Edinburgh Council, involved hackers sending deceptive emails or texts designed to mimic legitimate sources. These messages often create a false sense of urgency, preying on users’ panic to induce them to click on links containing malware.
Alert council staff detected the “unusual” email activity on Friday afternoon, prompting swift action from IT personnel. In a decisive move to prevent the cyber criminals from gaining access to sensitive information, the council made the “difficult decision” to immediately reset the passwords of every single pupil and member of staff connected to the schools and early years IT network.
While this security measure aimed to protect the integrity of the system, it has inadvertently thrown exam revision into chaos for many students.
The password reset has locked youngsters out of their crucial school accounts, denying them access to vital revision materials stored on platforms like Microsoft Teams and OneNote.
This comes at a critical time, with crucial examinations looming for students across various levels.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, school staff have mobilized to mitigate the impact on students. On Saturday, May 10th, schools opened their doors between 10:15 am and 12 noon, allowing pupils to visit and receive a new password from a member of staff.
This enabled them to regain access to their accounts and resume their studies.
Furthermore, council chiefs have proactively shared links to alternative resources that can assist students in their exam preparation, acknowledging the temporary setback caused by the cyber incident.
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Council stated, “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.”
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