Hardenhuish School in Chippenham hit by cyber attack

A secondary school has confirmed it has been the victim of a cyber incident which has affected its IT network.

Hardenhuish School in Chippenham, Wiltshire, has been hit by a ransomware attack, where hackers gain access to IT systems and demand a ransom in return for restored access.

In a statement, the school said it is still experiencing disruption while specialists work on a resolution.

"Our pupils' learning is our absolute focus," a school spokesperson said.

They added: "We have worked with staff to swiftly implement contingency plans to ensure minimal disruption whilst we get our systems back up and running.

"It is our priority to return to normal service as soon as possible."

A number of schools and universities were hit in separate attacks in January, with highly confidential documents from 14 schools leaked online by hackers.

However, there is no indication that Hardenhuish School has suffered the same scale of data loss.

While the hacking continues, the school has reverted to old-fashioned paper registers.

Wiltshire based cyber expert, Prof Alan Woodward, from the University of Surrey, said schools are a "soft target".

"IT is not their core business, they don't have big IT teams, and if they're all using standard software and a vulnerability is found in it, then the criminals will quite quickly realise that.

"The advice is never to pay. It sounds like a quick way out, but the prices are extortionate, and you're painting a big target on your back.

"Hackers sell what they call 'suckers lists' on the dark web, where they say 'these people will pay up', and often it can lead to further attacks," he added.

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