Best Practice Update

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Governors and Data Best Practice Area Update

The Governors and Data Best Practice area has been updated with some new content from the Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies.  There is a training video: 'Protecting Yourself and Your School from Cybercrime' and a pdf of the slides from the video. There is input for school governors to highlight the risks presented by cyber crime and the resources and support available to help you improve your organisation's cyber security.
The objective of the video is so that governors can:
  • Recognise the foundation that a cyber security strategy provides to how an organisation responds to a cyber security incident
  • Recognise the critical role that social engineering plays in cybercrime
  • Minimise your digital footprint
  • Create and manage strong, unique passwords
  • Recognise the importance of changing a default password
  • Apply two-step/multi-step verification to your accounts where available
  • Take measures to defend yourself against common cyber threats
It asks the question: 'How would your school/college respond to a cyber security incident?'


It goes on to explain what a cyber security strategy is and how to develop one for your organisation.

To view this and more guidance and support for governors, visit our Governance and Data Best Practice Area.

What to do in the event of a Cyber Attack 

Tell someone!  Report to IT. Report to SLT.

Unplug the computer from the internet by removing the ethernet cable or turning the Wi-Fi off. Isolate the infected device and pass to IT 

If you are a victim of a ransomware attack we would recommend reporting this to:
Action Fraud: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ as well as your data protection officer so they can advise about the data loss or your local police and ask for the cyber crime team or phone 101 and ask for the cyber crime team.

Most cyber crimes like these will also need to be reported to the ICO by your data protection officer. Our customers should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

These incidents should also be reported to the DfE sector cyber team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Academy trusts have to report these attacks to ESFA.

Where the incident causes long term school closure, the closure of more than 1 school or serious financial damage, you should also inform the National Cyber Security Centre.

Always ensure there are backups you can restore from.  Preserving evidence is as important as recovering from the crime.

Forward suspicious emails to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Report SMS scams by forwarding the original message to 7726 (spells SPAM on the keypad).

Little Guide to ACTION FRAUD

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