Yesterday, West Lothian Council confirmed that sensitive data had been stolen from its education network in a ransomware attack. IT systems across 13 secondary schools, 69 primary schools, and 61 nurseries were targeted. The council has warned parents and staff to be vigilant against further criminal activity, such as scams and phishing attacks.
The attack has been attributed to the ransomware group Interlock. Police Scotland is investigating, and the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre is supporting recovery efforts. However, the incident is just the latest example of a widespread threat to UK education that’s only growing.
A sector under siege
According to the UK government’s 2024 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 97% of higher education institutions reported experiencing a cyber breach or attack in the previous 12 months. For further education colleges, that figure was 86%, with 71% of secondary schools also affected. These are not just isolated incidents – they represent a systemic challenge to the sector’s resilience.
Phishing remains the most common type of attack, with over 90% of institutions reporting attempts to deceive staff or students into revealing sensitive information. But ransomware, where criminals encrypt critical systems and demand payment to unlock them, is increasingly prevalent. Almost six in ten educational institutions have admitted to being negatively impacted by a cyberattack in the last year.
When data becomes a weapon
The consequences of these attacks go beyond minor disruption. Exams have been interrupted, safeguarding systems taken offline, and student wellbeing services severely disrupted. The financial toll can also be staggering.
Recovery costs from ransomware attacks can stretch into the millions. This is money that could otherwise be spent on teaching, learning resources, or safeguarding programmes. Over a third of English schools were hit by cyberattacks in 2024, some of which forced systems offline for weeks.
Yet for many institutions, cyber resilience remains out of reach.
An uneven playing field
Larger multi-academy trusts and universities often have IT teams and cyber strategies in place. By contrast, many schools operate with limited budgets and outdated infrastructure. A 2023 survey found that one-third of UK teachers had received no cybersecurity training at all. Many are unaware of how to spot phishing emails or respond to a suspected data breach.
This lack of preparedness is often not a product of neglect but resource constraints. With teaching staff under pressure and IT budgets stretched thin, cybersecurity often falls down the list of priorities.
How Redstor keeps you resilient
Every educational institution should have access to enterprise-grade data protection. That’s why Redstor has tailored its platform to meet the needs of schools and colleges. Here’s how:
- Backup and recovery built for speed: Our cloud-first solution automatically backs up data across servers, endpoints, and cloud services like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. In the event of an attack, our InstantData™ technology provides recovery in minutes, even before a full restore is complete.
- Powerful malware detection: Redstor scans backups for ransomware, preventing reinfection during recovery. This provides peace of mind that restored data is clean and safe.
- Simplified management: With Redstor’s intuitive, centralised platform, even small IT teams can easily manage multiple schools or campuses from a single interface. No additional hardware or complex configuration is required.
- Full visibility and control: Redstor gives education leaders real-time insight into what’s being protected, where data lives, and how it’s being used. This information is critical not just for operational assurance but also for compliance with safeguarding and privacy regulations.
- Immutable backups and air-gapped protection: Even if attackers manage to compromise your live environment, Redstor’s backups are off-site, immutable and protected. This means you will always have a clean copy of your data to fall back on, no matter what.
Take action today
The education sector is defined by opportunity, safety, and trust. When a school’s systems go offline or students’ personal data is leaked, that trust is broken. As ransomware groups become more aggressive and data becomes more valuable, attacks are only becoming more common.
Teachers often tell their students, ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. The same goes for schools themselves. The only way to ensure you’re protected against the dangers of a ransomware attack is to know that you already have a plan in place to recover lost or stolen data securely.
Over 16,000 UK schools trust Redstor for backup and recovery. Get in touch today to learn why.