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The trend of students hacking their school and college IT systems for fun or as part of dares has prompted a warning from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO has expressed concerns about the “insider threat” that students pose and has emphasized that teachers need to better understand and recognize this risk. According to the ICO, the majority of cyber attacks and data breaches in education settings – particularly those carried out by someone with internal system access – are initiated by students.
Heather Toomey, Principal Cyber Specialist at the ICO, highlighted the potential dangers of what may start as a harmless dare or challenge in a school environment. She stated that such activities could escalate to damaging attacks on organizations or critical infrastructure. This warning comes in light of recent high-profile cyber-attacks affecting companies like M&S and Jaguar Land Rover, where teenage hackers have been implicated.
The ICO’s investigations since 2022 have uncovered 215 hacks and breaches originating from within education settings, with 57% attributed to children. The breaches were not limited to students, as some also involved staff, third-party IT suppliers, and other organizations with access to the systems. The data revealed that nearly a third of the breaches involved students illegally logging into staff computer systems by guessing passwords or stealing details from teachers.
One notable incident involved three Year 11 students unlawfully accessing school databases containing personal information of over 1,400 students. These students used hacking tools downloaded from the internet to bypass passwords and security protocols, claiming their interest in cyber security and desire to test their skills. Another example cited by the ICO was a student who accessed their college’s databases using a teacher’s details to alter or delete personal information of more than 9,000 individuals. This breach included sensitive data such as names, home addresses, school records, health information, and emergency contacts
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