Dear All

I wanted to share a security issue which happened last week at the school.  The information below sets out what happened and what steps we are taking to protect you.

What happened?

• A cyber attack on the school IT systems resulting in a virus encrypting data stored on the school servers. 

• A small increase in internet traffic was seen at the time of the attack which could mean some data has been extracted. There is the potential for any information held by the school to have been affected by this.  

What we are doing?

• As we cannot be sure no data has been breached, we have determined that there is a potential risk to individuals and therefore are communicating to all parents, students and staff

• We reported the crime to the Action Fraud Agency within the Police

• We are re-building the IT systems from the data backed up every day and installing onto new servers which we have ordered and are awaiting delivery

• The entry point used by the criminals to access the school has been located and re-configured and all passwords for critical systems have been changed

• Temporary solutions have been put in place whilst the systems are re-built meaning all home learning is uninterrupted, on site schooling for vulnerable students and keyworker children can continue and staff have access to student records.

What can you do?

• We recommend you do not respond to calls and emails from someone you don’t know especially if they provide personal information about you and your family

• If you have any questions or need more information then contact the following email address: dataprotection@greenshawlearningtrust.co.uk

Yours faithfully

Ms K Brown

Headteacher