IT system for Northern Ireland schools ‘largely restored’ following cyber attack

By Rebecca Black (Press Association)

An IT system for Northern Ireland schools has been “largely restored” following a cyber attack, the Education Authority has said.

The C2k system was targeted in the attack earlier this month.

On Thursday a 16-year-old boy was arrested by detectives investigating the incident.

On Friday the Education Authority (EA) said more than 414,000 user accounts, including pupils, teachers and non-teaching staff, have been successfully reconnected, bringing the system “back to close to normal levels of operation”.

It said the number of calls to the C2k service desk have now “significantly reduced and is now in line with a typical school day”.

It also said the majority of systems and services schools need to access are also now available.

“We would like to thank schools, staff across the EA, partners, and our service provider for their significant efforts and commitment throughout this period,” a EA spokesperson said in a statement.

“We are also very grateful to parents/carers, pupils and school communities for their patience and cooperation throughout this challenging period.

“The EA is continuing to work closely with a small number of schools that were specifically targeted, where some personal data was compromised.

“We will be contacting any impacted individuals directly to provide further information, advice and guidance.

“They do not need to take any further action at this stage.”