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Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nPupils in Edinburgh were cut off from revision resources ahead of key exam dates after an attempted cyber attack on the council’s education department.<\/p>\n Staff spotted a suspicious invitation to a meeting earlier on Friday and realised it was “spear-phishing” – which impersonates a trusted source. <\/p>\n Parents were sent texts telling them that students’ passwords have been reset as a precaution – meaning pupils studying for exams no longer had access to their school’s learning resources.<\/p>\n Pupils have been going into schools to be given new passwords.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Friday night, the council said pupils preparing for exams would be given priority support following what it called a “difficult but necessary” decision. <\/p>\n It follows a suspected criminal ransomware cyberattack on schools in West Lothian earlier this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Edinburgh Council’s education, children and families convener James Dalgleish said staff spotted “unusual and suspicious activity” on the schools and early years IT network.<\/p>\n He added: “As a result, we took the precautionary decision to immediately reset passwords for all users across our education service.<\/p>\n “I fully appreciate the impact this will have, particularly on those students preparing for their exams next week \u2013 but, unfortunately, we had no choice. This was a difficult but necessary decision to ensure our networks remain secure and protected.”<\/p>\n The council said no data had been compromised by the attempted attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Exams began on Friday 25 April with key dates in the coming week, including the Higher maths exam on Monday.<\/p>\n Pupils were told they could access their personal revision materials by going to their schools on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n A member of staff then issued them with a new password, while an online help page<\/a> has been set up by the council.<\/p>\n Spear-phishing usually differs from typical phishing attacks by being more focused, as opposed to the quantity of targets a usual phishing message will be sent to.<\/p>\n Messages in spear-phishing can be more personalised, in an attempt to trick the victim into believing it is from a genuine contact. <\/p>\n Tech companies like Twitter, now X, have been attacked via spear-phishing<\/a> in the past. <\/p>\n Students in Edinburgh use council-provided iPads, as part of the local authority’s Empowered Learning<\/a> programme. <\/p>\n<\/div>\nNew passwords <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Second attack<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n