UK Department for Education confirms data breach affecting over 600,000 records

As reported by IT Pro, the UK's Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed a significant data breach, with hackers accessing over 600,000 records containing sensitive information.

The breach, claimed by the ExfilSquad hacking group, exposed names, job titles, and phone numbers of head teachers, university staff, and government officials. The data was accessed through the DfE’s Help Desk Self-Service Portal and the Turing Scheme Portal. While the DfE states the risk to individuals is low and that the breached data cannot be connected, cybersecurity experts warn that this information is a high-value target for spear-phishing campaigns.

The education sector is increasingly targeted globally, with the UK's education industry being the most frequently targeted in June. This incident, following other public sector breaches, highlights the vulnerability of help desk and third-party support systems, prompting calls for a wider review of sensitive data storage and monitoring across government IT estates. The DfE is working with the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency to address the incident.

Source: IT Pro