Six in 10 secondary schools hit by hackers over past 12 months

When hackers attacked UK nurseries last month and published children's data online, they were accused of hitting a new low.

- Dan Milmo

But the education sector is well used to being a target.

According to a UK government survey, educational institutions are more likely to face a cyber-attack or security breach than private businesses.

Six out of 10 secondary schools have had an attack or breach over the past 12 months, rising to eight out of 10 for further education colleges and nine out of 10 for higher education institutions. By comparison, four out of 10 businesses have faced a breach or attack - roughly the same proportion as primary schools.

Toby Lewis, the global head of threat analysis at the cybersecurity firm Darktrace, says the UK education sector is not necessarily being targeted deliberately. “They are just getting caught up in the dragnet of cybercrime attacks that are out there,” he says, adding that there is an “element of randomness and opportunism” in the targeting of cybercrime victims.