Revision disrupted as cyber attackers target council

Parents have been sent texts telling that them students' passwords have been reset as a precaution

Pupils in Edinburgh have been cut off from revision resources ahead of key exam dates after an attempted cyber attack on the council's education department.

Staff spotted a suspicious invitation to a meeting earlier on Friday and realised it was "spear-phishing" - which impersonates a trusted source.

Parents have been sent texts telling that them students' passwords have been reset as a precaution - meaning pupils studying for exams do not currently have access to their school's learning resources.

The council said pupils preparing for exams would be given priority support following what it called a "difficult but necessary" decision.

It follows a suspected criminal ransomware cyberattack on schools in West Lothian earlier this week.

Edinburgh Council's Education, Children and Families convener James Dalgleish said staff spotted "unusual and suspicious activity" on the schools and early years IT network.

He added: "As a result, we took the precautionary decision to immediately reset passwords for all users across our education service.

"I fully appreciate the impact this will have, particularly on those students preparing for their exams next week – but, unfortunately, we had no choice. This was a difficult but necessary decision to ensure our networks remain secure and protected."

The council said no data had been compromised by the attempted attack.

What should pupils do?

Exams began on Friday 25 April with key dates in the coming week, including the Higher maths exam on Monday.

Pupils have been told they can access their personal revision materials by going to their school on Saturday between 10:15 and midday.

A member of staff will issue them with a new password, while an online help page has been set up by the council.

The council has given an assurance that students currently sitting exams will be given priority support.

Spear-phishing usually differs from typical phishing attacks by being more focused, as opposed to the quantity of targets a usual phishing message will be sent to.

Messages in spear-phishing can be more personalised, in an attempt to trick the victim into believing it is from a genuine contact.

Tech companies like Twitter, now X, have been attacked via spear-phishing in the past.

Students in Edinburgh use council-provided iPads, as part of the local authority's Empowered Learning programme.

Second attack

West Lothian Council had to resort to contingency measures to keep schools open earlier this week after the local authority's education network was attacked.

A spokesperson for the council said there was no evidence any personal or sensitive data had been accessed in the attack.

Ransomware is a type of malware which prevents someone from accessing a device and the data stored on it, usually by encrypting files, according to the National Cyber Security Centre.