Wakefield school issues statement and plans to reopen after ransomware attack

A Wakefield secondary school is set to reopen tomorrow after a ransomware attack, they have confirmed.
A Wakefield secondary school is set to reopen tomorrow after a ransomware attack, they have confirmed. Photo: Google MapsA Wakefield secondary school is set to reopen tomorrow after a ransomware attack, they have confirmed. Photo: Google Maps
A Wakefield secondary school is set to reopen tomorrow after a ransomware attack, they have confirmed. Photo: Google Maps

St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, on Barnsley Road, said they had been forced to take the decision after discovering that a weekend attack had "disabled all their systems".

Unable to access their systems or monitor pupils, the school took the decision to close today (Tuesday, October 22) in order to restore their "registering, monitoring and safeguarding systems".

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Ransomware is a type of harmful software which disables access to a user's files before requesting money for their safe return.

In a statement, the school have confirmed that no personal data was compromised during the attack.

Pupils will be allowed to return to school tomorrow, they said.

Lesley Fitton, Chief Executive Officer of The Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust, said: "On behalf of the Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust and St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, we can confirm that personal data has not been compromised during or after the cyber incident at the school and all personal data remains secure.

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"West Yorkshire Police Cyber Crime Team and the supervisory authority have been informed of the incident.

"Work is ongoing today to restore the systems to full working order and parents have now been informed that the school is open tomorrow (Wednesday 23 October).

"We apologise to parents and pupils for the inconvenience caused by the school closure today, but this was deemed necessary to ensure that all systems were restored for the safety of pupils."

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