Man arrested after UK school reports wiped hard drives on devices connected to network
- Reference: 1611580805
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/01/25/leicestershire_school_computer_misuse/
- Source link:
The unnamed man is suspected of disrupting Welland Park Academy in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England. A police spokesman told a local news [1]website : "Officers received a report of a major IT outage at the school on Monday, January 18, that prevented the school from delivering remote learning and accessing material to support the children of keyworkers and vulnerable children who are attending school."
[2]
The spokesman further alleged: "It was subsequently discovered that a sophisticated cyber attack had occurred which affected personal devices that connected to the school's network."
The man, who [3]cannot be identified by news media unless he is formally charged, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of breaching sections 1 and 3 of the Computer Misuse Act.
[4]
Welland Park Academy has about a thousand pupils. Leicestershire Police's cybercrime unit began investigating after hard drives were allegedly wiped, though the same unnamed police press officer told the Leicester Mercury newspaper "there is currently no evidence of any data exfiltration".
Cyber attacks on British educational institutions that result in charges are relatively rare. A 25-year-old Bradford man was arrested in 2019 after students were duped into paying fraudulent invoices appearing to come from Lancaster University [5]following a data breach . More recently, a Dundee college was [6]struck by ransomware early last year – though there is no information to suggest the perp in that case had any direct links with the UK.
In other Computer Misuse Act news
A police worker faces court tomorrow after allegedly being caught accessing police databases without a legitimate purpose for doing so.
Scott Gardner-McLean, aged 21, was reportedly charged with a Computer Misuse Act crime in December. The Essex County Standard [7]reported that Gardner-McLean, a police constable based in Clacton, Essex, will appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court tomorrow following "a months-long enquiry".
[8]
The Independent Office of Police Conduct said in a statement [9]on its website that Gardner-McLean's conduct had been subject to an investigation that began in October 2019. The police constable is innocent unless proven guilty. ®
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[1] https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/man-arrested-after-sophisticated-cyber-4917361
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YA75JGdAqh2AOQUURh14UAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2021/news/law-column-83000-reasons-to-remember-that-arrested-suspects-have-right-to-privacy-until-charged/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YA75JGdAqh2AOQUURh14UAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2019/07/24/lancaster_university_hack_breach_man_arrested/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/02/04/dundee_angus_college_ransomware/
[7] https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/19032240.clacton-police-officer-appear-court-computer-misuse-charge/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YA75JGdAqh2AOQUURh14UAAAAAI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://policeconduct.gov.uk/news/essex-police-officer-appear-court-charged-computer-misuse-offences
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Also, do they want to tell us what was done and why? So far, all I know is that hard drives got wiped. I'm guessing that was to destroy the evidence from something else, but I don't know. Do they not know either? Or do they have an idea what happened? Or did this guy just like erasing drives and ran out of machines so stopped by? for now, I see little sophistication in the attack or the reporting.
I'd go so far as to say I'd have a heart-attack if an organisation admitted it was a "simple cyber attack caused by bad management decisions, including not spending enough money on security and making the technical staff redundant so we could get a bigger bonus".
Based on that criteria, I don't think I will be suffering from a heart-attack any time soon....
Came for that exact comment. Satisfied.
"Yeah, it was dead simple." The perp told the reporter. "I walked into the IT guy's office, typed 'Passw0rd' into the login screen, dumped the database onto a USB pen and walked out. Made a mint on the dark web."
The institution concerned said it was investigating the sophisticated cyber attack and couldn't comment further at this time.
aged 21
I had five 17 year old apprentices when I was 21. It seemed normal at the time and I did my best for them even as 'Silicon Glen' began collapsing about our ears. They were definitely smart enough to cause major mischief if they hadn't been employed and trained and motivated.
In my era - Thatcher's era - apprenticeships were a real thing, not a job creation scheme. It utterly scunners me that they've become a new YTS.
And I used to be a citizen
I never felt the pressure
I knew nothing of the horses
Nothing of the thresher
sophisticated and certainly state sponsored
By the either Russian or Chinese 28-year-old elite hacker... as always.
A 28-year-old has been arrested after allegedly carrying out what police have labelled a "sophisticated cyber attack" on a school.
I'm looking forward to an organisation admitting it was a "simple cyber attack"