C2K School IT system targeted in a cyber attack ahead of exam season

pAn IT system used by schools across Northern Ireland has been targeted in a cyber attack the Education Authority EA has saidppOn Thursday schools received a message that as part of work to manage an IT security issue the EA would be carrying out a password reset for all usersppAn EA spokesperson said immediate steps were taken to contain the issue and a full investigation is underway but it could not confirm whether any personal data has been affectedppIt has resulted in all schools and pupils being logged out of their accounts meaning pupils cannot log in to get work or resources provided by their teachers in the run up to exam seasonppAll online and IT systems in schools in Northern Ireland are provided through the C2K network managed by the EAppWe are taking this very seriously and are engaging with the Information Commissioners Office and relevant authorities as part of our response the EA spokesperson saidppThe investigation is at an early stage and we are not yet able to confirm whether any personal data has been affected they saidppAs a critical security measure a full password reset has been carried out across the school network Capita is conducting further security tests and access to the system is currently unavailableppThe EA spokesperson added that they will update users on the arrangements for regaining access as soon as possible including arrangements for password resetsppWe understand and sincerely apologise for the impact on staff and pupils particularly pupils who may be preparing for exams or completing coursework during the Easter period they saidppWe are working hard to resolve this problem as soon as possibleppMore than 800 pupils at Methodist College in Belfast MCB are due to sit GCSE AS and ALevel exams a few weeks after the Easter breakppThe school principal Jenny Lendrum said that all pupils access work and other information through the C2K systemppThat would include any online platforms that they would use for learning it would include all of the emails that we use in school she saidppIt also means that they would use OneDrive through C2K so all of those different services are all linkedppSo whenever the C2K system goes down it means that our pupils do not have access to all of the different services that they can use within schoolppShe said that although the school recommended that pupils took a break over Easter many would do some revision and would be affected by the IT problemsppWe would have pupils who are working from Google classroom which would be where they would have all of their resources that are uploaded throughout the year she saidppBut at this time of the year there would be many pieces of revision that would be there for the pupils to accessppLendrum said she hoped the EA could sort out the problem as soon as possible ppWhilst it is the Easter holidays there would be a lot of work being done by pupils independently but also working alongside staffppWith the C2K network being down that ability to work together and to access really important materials is just not thereppShes worried that pupils will not be able to access what they need in order to maximise their revision time over the school holidays ppThere are only two weeks after Easter before the pupils will start their study leave the exams will be very quick after thatppSo much is online and thats the way they work she added ppppKian Hawes a pupil at Lumen Christi College in Londonderry said the Easter break usually gives students a chance to catch up on revision and that his teachers had been encouraging them to do soppBut the 14yearold who is also the education officer for the Secondary Students Union of Northern Ireland said the issue with C2K would hinder students ability to reviseppTheres no doubt that its definitely going to pile pressure on to students he saidppAnd theyre going to be frustrated at the fact that now with a week and a half off theyre not able to start revision or get indepth revision doneppStormonts education committee chair Nick Mathison said the priority needs to be that MLAs and the EA establishhas there been a data breachppI think that is probably everybody who uses the C2K systems first concern here is has their data been compromisedppHe said it was vital that those potentially impacted are communicated with quickly and if there is advice around data security that is needed that that is provided without any delayppFurther incidents of animal carcass waste dumping have been uncovered in rural parts of County TyroneppAt the peak of the blaze on Sunday there were 42 firefighters at the sceneppA university student has helped chronicle the life and exile of renowned astronomer and astrophysicist Ernst ÖpikppCampaigners gathered at several locations around Lough Neagh to come together to Sing for the LoughppNiall Donnan is making it his mission to offer strangers hugs while documenting it on social media ppCopyright 2026 BBC All rights reserved The BBC is not responsible for the 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