School cyber attack stopped pupils submitting work

Ransomware stopped students from being able to submit coursework for weeks, a police scrutiny meeting heard

A cyber attack left pupils in schools unable to submit coursework for weeks, a Shropshire councillor has said.

A meeting of the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel was told that the force's cyber unit had supported several "high-impact investigations, including a ransomware attack affecting 11 schools".

A "sensitive case involving AI-generated imagery at two schools" and cryptocurrency related matters were also dealt with, however neither the schools nor the areas they are in were identified at Monday's meeting.

But Bagley councillor Benedict Jephcott said he was aware of an issue in Shropshire that the ransomware matter in the committee papers may relate to.

Jephcott said it was connected to a multi-academy chain and may not have happened if it had "not enforced integration across sites".

The ransomware attack – which prevented the school accessing information and systems unless a ransom was paid – led to "pupils being unable to submit coursework through their computer systems for many, many weeks", he said.

One large secondary school did not have a single working printer due to the attack, stated the councillor, who believed that disconnecting equipment could be a way to stop the issues.

Jephcott asked police and crime commissioner (PCC) John Campion if interventions were planned to help the community defend itself against cyber attacks.

Campion said he thought it was a balance between individuals taking responsibility and the police having a response to criminals.

The PCC compared the issue to a householder leaving their front door open and being burgled and those who take preventative measures to stop being victims of crime.

But he added there was not enough understanding of cyber attacks, and the force was doing more to engage with people on the issue, including regular radio interviews, leaflet drops and digital content.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.