Hackers managed to gain unauthorized access to over 600,000 pieces of data in a significant cyber intrusion targeting the Department for Education (DfE).
The breach, which occurred last week, resulted in the theft of 607,000 records containing personal information such as names, job titles, phone numbers, and email addresses of government officials, school administrators, and university personnel.
Although the number of individuals impacted by the breach does not directly align with the number of records taken, the DfE assured that the breach was swiftly contained, minimizing the data protection risk to those affected.
The cyber attack targeted the Turing Scheme portal, a program that offers funding for international education, and the department’s online help desk. As a precautionary measure, the DfE has temporarily transitioned to using telephone services while addressing the security vulnerabilities.
In response to the incident, the DfE is collaborating closely with the National Cyber Security Centre, the National Crime Agency, and has notified the Information Commissioner’s Office for further investigation.
Reports from the dark web suggest that a group named ExfilSquad has claimed responsibility for the breach, as reported by The Times.
A spokesperson from the DfE emphasized the implementation of robust security protocols to safeguard information and confirmed that only customer service contact details related to individuals and organizations were compromised, with no access to other sensitive data.
Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, expressed concern over the reports and urged the DfE to promptly clarify the extent of the information accessed to reassure the affected parties and prevent future breaches within the sector.
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