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| Exam revision disrupted as cyber attackers target Edinburgh council | Exam revision disrupted as cyber attackers target Edinburgh council |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Parents have been sent texts telling them that students' passwords have been reset as a precaution | Parents have been sent texts telling them that students' passwords have been reset as a precaution |
| Pupils in Edinburgh were cut off from revision resources ahead of key exam dates after an attempted cyber attack on the council's education department. | Pupils in Edinburgh were 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. | Staff spotted a suspicious invitation to a meeting earlier on Friday and realised it was "spear-phishing" - which impersonates a trusted source. |
| Parents were sent texts telling them that students' passwords have been reset as a precaution - meaning pupils studying for exams no longer had access to their school's learning resources. | Parents were sent texts telling them that students' passwords have been reset as a precaution - meaning pupils studying for exams no longer had access to their school's learning resources. |
| Pupils have been going into schools to be given new passwords. | Pupils have been going into schools to be given new passwords. |
| On Friday night, the council said pupils preparing for exams would be given priority support following what it called a "difficult but necessary" decision. | On Friday night, 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. | It follows a suspected criminal ransomware cyberattack on schools in West Lothian earlier this week. |
| Education convener James Dalgleish | |
| 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. | 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. |
| "As a result, we took the precautionary decision to immediately reset passwords for all users across our education service," he said. | |
| Councillor Dalgleish told BBC Scotland News the phishing attack was spotted very quickly by council officers and some networks were immediately shut down. | |
| "That's obviously unfortunate and a distraction for some pupils who are going through their exam processes but it was necessary to make sure we have the integrity of our educational infrastructure," he said. | |
| "That's not been compromised in any way." | |
| He added that council officers were very well trained in recognising phishing attacks and said investigations into the incident would continue. | |
| As well as pupils being given new passwords, all revision materials have been put on the council website. | |
| "I want to thanks parents and pupils for being patient with us as well as the teachers for opening the secondary schools this morning," he added. | |
| The council believes everything should be back to normal on Monday. | |
| Councillor Dalgleish said the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) had been informed and any pupils with concerns should speak to their teachers. | |
| The council said no data had been compromised by the attempted attack. | The council said no data had been compromised by the attempted attack. |
| Exams began on Friday 25 April with key dates in the coming week, including the Higher maths exam on Monday. | Exams began on Friday 25 April with key dates in the coming week, including the Higher maths exam on Monday. |
| Pupils were told they could access their personal revision materials by going to their schools on Saturday morning. | Pupils were told they could access their personal revision materials by going to their schools on Saturday morning. |
| A member of staff then issued them with a new password, while an online help page has been set up by the council. | A member of staff then issued them with a new password, while an online help page has been set up by the council. |
| BBC Scotland News spoke to pupils arriving at James Gillespie's High School. | BBC Scotland News spoke to pupils arriving at James Gillespie's High School. |
| Jack, 18, said: "It's a bit of a nightmare to be honest. | Jack, 18, said: "It's a bit of a nightmare to be honest. |
| "Teams is pretty much what everyone learns on, for revising as well. With that being down people are pretty short on what resources they can use." | "Teams is pretty much what everyone learns on, for revising as well. With that being down people are pretty short on what resources they can use." |
| His sister Libby, 16, said some pupils who have exams on Monday had further to travel to come into school so had even less time to revise. | His sister Libby, 16, said some pupils who have exams on Monday had further to travel to come into school so had even less time to revise. |
| Robbie added: "It's a bit annoying to be fair as we've been locked out a lot of revision resources this morning." | Robbie added: "It's a bit annoying to be fair as we've been locked out a lot of revision resources this morning." |
| Second attack | Second attack |
| 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. | 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. | 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 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. | Students in Edinburgh use council-provided iPads, as part of the local authority's Empowered Learning programme. |
| 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |