Northern Ireland's school IT system targeted in cyber attack ahead of exam season

An IT system used by schools across Northern Ireland has been targeted in a cyber attack, the Education Authority (EA) has said.

On Thursday, schools received a message that as part of "work to manage an IT security issue" the EA would be carrying out a password reset for all users.

An EA spokesperson said immediate steps were taken to contain the issue and a full investigation is underway, but it could not confirm whether any personal data has been affected.

It has resulted in all schools and pupils being logged out of their accounts, meaning pupils cannot log in to get work or resources provided by their teachers in the run up to exam season.

All online and IT systems in schools in Northern Ireland are provided through the C2K network, managed by the EA.

"We are taking this very seriously and are engaging with the Information Commissioner's Office and relevant authorities as part of our response," the EA spokesperson said.

"The investigation is at an early stage, and we are not yet able to confirm whether any personal data has been affected," they said.

"As a critical security measure, a full password reset has been carried out across the school network. Capita is conducting further security tests, and access to the system is currently unavailable."

The EA spokesperson added that they will update users on the arrangements for regaining access "as soon as possible", including arrangements for password resets.

"We understand and sincerely apologise for the impact on staff and pupils; particularly pupils who may be preparing for exams or completing coursework during the Easter period," they said.

"We are working hard to resolve this problem as soon as possible."

How will this impact pupils?

More than 800 pupils at Methodist College in Belfast (MCB) are due to sit GCSE, AS and A-Level exams a few weeks after the Easter break.

The school principal Jenny Lendrum said that all pupils access work and other information through the C2K system.

"That would include any online platforms that they would use for learning, it would include all of the e-mails that we use in school," she said.

"It also means that they would use OneDrive through C2K, so all of those different services are all linked."

"So whenever the C2K system goes down it means that our pupils do not have access to all of the different services that they can use within school."

She said that although the school recommended that pupils took a break over Easter, many would do some revision and would be affected by the IT problems.

"We would have pupils who are working from Google classroom which would be where they would have all of their resources that are uploaded throughout the year," she said.

"But at this time of the year there would be many pieces of revision that would be there for the pupils to access."

Lendrum said she hoped the EA could sort out the problem as soon as possible.

"Whilst it is the Easter holidays there would be a lot of work being done by pupils independently but also working alongside staff.

"With the C2K network being down that ability to work together and to access really important materials is just not there."

She's worried that pupils will not be able to access what they need in order to maximise their revision time over the school holidays.

"There are only two weeks after Easter before the pupils will start their study leave, the exams will be very quick after that."

"So much is online and that's the way they work," she added.

Kian Hawes, a pupil at Lumen Christi College in Londonderry, said the Easter break usually gives students a chance to catch up on revision and that his teachers had been encouraging them to do so.

But the 14-year-old, who is also the education officer for the Secondary Students Union of Northern Ireland, said the issue with C2K would hinder students ability to revise.

"There's no doubt that it's definitely going to pile pressure on to students," he said.

"And they're going to be frustrated at the fact that now with a week and a half off they're not able to start revision, or get in-depth revision done."