Schools told to reset passwords after C2K cyberattack

By Jonathan McCambridge (Press Association)

Schools in Northern Ireland have been advised to reset passwords for access to an IT system that was targeted in a cyberattack.

The Education Authority (EA) said a failure to reconnect to the C2K accounts would affect access to email and other services.

Online and IT systems in schools in Northern Ireland are provided through the C2K network, provided by Capita.

The EA apologised last week for the impact of the attack on pupils who may be preparing for exams over the Easter break.

It left schools and pupils unable to log into their accounts.

The C2K system is used as a curriculum support.

Providing an update, an EA statement said: “Schools across Northern are advised to ensure their C2K accounts are reconnected before the start of the new school term.

“This will help to reduce ongoing disruption stemming from the recent cyber incident.

The C2K reconnection process involves password resets for each school.

“Both primary and post-primary schools are asked to initiate their resets as soon as possible.”

The EA said C2K managers in each school can log a call with its service desk to get their password reset.

The statement continued: “This will enable them to reset passwords for staff and students in their school.

“It will also provide access to supporting documentation and updates on service recovery.

“School C2K managers can contact the service desk on 0800 0931 541.

“It will remain open 8am to 5pm for the remainder of this week and through the weekend.

“Schools that have not completed the password reset process before the beginning of term are likely to have limited or no access to core C2K services at the start of the day.

“This will affect access to email as well as any services that depend on C2K credentials.”