Private School Parents Targeted by Hackers

Hackers are targeting private schools in the UK via phishing attacks.

Poorly secured systems at private schools are under attack with hackers looking to steal ID based data, which can then be used to send fake invoices to unsuspecting parents.

The Independent Schools' Bursars Association's chief executive told The Telegraph that cyber-attacks have graduated from being“isolated incidents” to a serious concern, with fraudsters continually “one step ahead” of security measures.

Online insurance provider, Cyber Decider, told the paper that six private schools filed insurance claims in the last two-and-a-half months as a result of cyber-attacks. 

NuData Security's VP, Ryan Wilk, says the motivations are simple:

“Schools are (quite understandably) more likely to be interested in spending on education than cyber-security [so] fraudsters have identified a lucrative industry, with parents guaranteed to have disposable income they can engineer into their own hands.” 

Wilk warned that this should make private schools sit up and take notice of the damage this kind of scam could do to their reputation.

“Equally, parents of private school students should remain extra vigilant to any emails allegedly coming from the school, and should double check with the institution before making any kind of payment.”