A Cheshire school has closed after being hit with a ransomware infection.

Blacon High School, just outside Chester, will be closed to students on Monday and Tuesday while a cybersecurity company investigates, according to a post on its website. Headteacher Rachel Hudson said until this investigation is complete, further details on any potential data breach cannot be provided.

“School may need to be closed for longer but we will know more in the next few days and update you as soon as we have more information,” she said.

“Once all staff devices have been cleansed, teachers will spend time re-planning lessons and will set work on Google Classroom for students to complete at home during Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, senior staff are creating systems to enable us to continue running the school.”

Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, said: "This highlights the direct impact that ransomware can have on the community. Schools and other local government agencies often lack funding and consequently may not have the best protection for their systems which makes them soft targets.”

Weaker Security

Moore said that with weaker security, schools are often unintentionally caught up in a net of ransomware when other companies are targeted. “Even if the law was to change to make paying ransom demands illegal, schools could potentially still get hit with indirect cyber-attacks,” he said.

"Schools frequently suffer from a lack in funding which can result in weaker network protection and the use of older systems, inadvertently making them susceptible to multiple cyberattacks such as this. There are now endless examples of educational systems and councils being struck in similar attacks and often there can be weeks of disruption which causes a knock on effect to the wider community."

Adam Boynton, senior security strategy manager EMEIA at Jamf, said that schools are attractive targets due to their limited IT resources and tight budgets, which hinder upgrades to devices and security systems.

He said that while the attack has led to Blacon High School’s temporary closure, it is important not to give in to ransom demands, as paying the ransom does not guarantee that systems will be recovered or that the school will reopen sooner.

“To protect themselves, schools should prioritise improving cyber hygiene,” he said. “With poor standards highlighted by Ofqual’s report, schools must quickly assess their risks, identify network threats, and address them effectively. They should implement an internet safety framework with content filtering to block inappropriate content and threat prevention software to combat cyber threats.”

Dan Raywood Senior Editor SC Media UK

Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.

He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.

Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.