Kent's St Augustine Academy says hackers encrypted student and staff data following a cyber attack

The Church of England St Augustine Academy, a secondary school in Maidstone, Kent, suffered a cyber attack that involved cyber criminals encrypting student and staff data.

Established in 2011 as Astor of Hever School, St Augustine Academy is the only Church of England secondary school in Kent and has over 750 students and staff from the local community.

The news of the cyber attack on St Augustine Academy came to light after the school’s principal Jason Feldwick said the institution suffered “a serious IT breach” on Wednesday.

In a notice sent to parents and guardians, Feldwick said that the cyber security incident was carried out by an “outside criminal organisation”, resulting in encryption of student and staff data.

School authorities so far haven’t clarified if any data has been exfiltrated by the malicious actors or whether the threat actors demanded a ransom for a decryption key. The school authorities have, however, confirmed that they will notify relevant authorities and will work with them to investigate and resolve the matter.

In the meantime, all parents, guardians and staff have been asked to remain “extra vigilant” if they receive any unusual emails and phone calls.

In a statement shared with the BBC, Councillor Chris Passmore said, “It just goes to show that absolutely no one is safe from cyber attacks and emphasises the need for vigilance against them.”

The news of the cyber attack on St Augustine Academy comes just days after a secondary school in North London delayed its re-opening after the summer break following a cyber security incident.

The Highgate Wood School, which has around 1,500 students, was forced to shut for an extra six days after its internal network was targeted by a cyber attack.

In an email sent to parents, the school authorities said, “With the help of Haringey Council, London Grid for Learning and other external experts in the field of cyber security, we’re doing everything to get our systems and functionality back up and running as swiftly and securely as possible.

“We sincerely apologise for any disruption and inconvenience this may cause you and your family and thank you for your patience, support and understanding at this time as we work through these IT issues.”