Man arrested in connection with cyber attack at a Harborough secondary school

The attack affected pupils who are currently learning from home due to the pandemic
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A man has been arrested in connection with a cyber attack at a Harborough secondary school.

As we previously reported, officers received a report of a major IT outage at Welland Park School in Market Harborough 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.

A police spokesperson said: "It was subsequently discovered that a sophisticated cyber attack had occurred which affected personal devices that connected to the school’s network."

A man has been arrested in connection with a reported cyber-attack at a Harborough secondary school.A man has been arrested in connection with a reported cyber-attack at a Harborough secondary school.
A man has been arrested in connection with a reported cyber-attack at a Harborough secondary school.

92 personal devices have been affected.

Officers from the force’s Cyber Crime Unit are investigating the incident and a 28-year-old man from Wellingborough has been arrested under section 1 and 3 of the Computer Misuse Act.

He has since been released under investigation and enquiries are continuing.

The spokesperson added: "Officers worked round the clock with the school and Microsoft to remove the threat to personal devices, which was swiftly achieved and work is continuing to restore the school’s IT capability as quickly as possible.

"There is currently no evidence of any data exfiltration.

"Officers would like to thank school staff, parents and pupils for their support and cooperation during this investigation."

Anyone who has been affected should contact [email protected]