Why Schools need a Cyber protection plan

Cybercriminals are targeting UK schools with ransomware, phishing scams, and data breaches, putting student records, financial information, and learning systems at risk. Preparing in advance can help schools prevent attacks, respond effectively, and recover quickly.

Would your school know what to do if it suffered a cyberattack today?
Does your school’s IT team have an incident response plan?
Have staff and students been trained on cybersecurity best practices?

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Five steps to prepare against a cyber attack

1. Conduct a cyber risk assessment

Threat Identification – understanding your school’s most significant cybersecurity risks
Gap analysis – pinpointing vulnerabilities in IT systems, emails and access controls.
Incident response planning – preparing staff to handle cyber incidents
Compliance and Regulation checks – ensuring GDPR and DfE cybersecurity compliance

2. Train staff, students and pupils on cybersecurity

Over 80% of cyberattacks involve human error – phishing emails, weak passwords or clicking on unsafe links
Schools should implement regular cybersecurity training to educate staff and students on:
- How to spot phishing emails and scams
- The importance of strong passwords and multi-factor authentication
- Recognising suspicious activity on school devices

A pupil is being taught about cybersecurity

3. Strengthen Security defences

Ensure software and operating systems are updated regularly
Use firewall and antivirus protection on all school devices
Limit access to sensitive information – not all staff need admin privileges

Two women working together on software programming indoors, focusing on code.

4. Back up data and create a recovery plan

Ensure automatic backups of student records, financial data and school systems
Store backups off site to prevent loss from ransomeware attacks
Test data recovery so your school can quickly restore files after an attack

Focused teamwork session with young adults at a whiteboard in modern office setting.

5. Work with cybersecurity experts

Schools needs ongoing cybersecurity monitoring and protection to stay ahead of evolving threats. Lexnis Risk and Cyber Security provides managed services including:

24/7 threat detection and response
Cybersecurity compliance support
Tailored cybersecurity training for your staff and students

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Protect your school before a cyber attack happens

Craig Mason, our Director advises “Cyber threats are only increasing in schools. Prevention is key to avoiding costly downtime, reputational damage and data loss.” Don’t wait until an attack happens.