POLICE have arrested a 16-year-old boy in Co. Armagh in connection with a cyber attack on schools in Northern Ireland.
The PSNI said the teenager was detained earlier today in the Portadown area and has since been released pending further enquiries.
He was arrested on suspicion of offences under Sections 1, 2 and 3A of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, while a follow-up search has taken place.
The force added that the arrest followed a report received on Thursday, April 2 of ‘network intrusion activity’ involving the Education Authority (EA).
In a statement today, the authority confirmed that there had been a targeted attack on a small number of schools which is believed to have compromised some personal data.
‘Specific and targeted access’
The EA previously said initial advice led it to believe that there was no evidence of data exfiltration or corruption as a result of the cyber incident.
However, after learning last Friday from forensic investigators that there had been ‘specific and targeted access of personal data’, the authority immediately informed police and the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The investigation pinpointed the accessing of personal information at a small number of schools.
This occurred prior to additional cyber security measures deployed by the EA after it was initially notified of the cyber attack at the beginning of this month.
The authority said it was previously constrained on what it could say publicly to avoid compromising police inquiries but was now able to release details of the emerging situation following today’s arrest.
‘Incident is contained’
The EA said individuals whose personal data had been compromised by the breach will be notified and it apologised to those affected.
While the authority believes the situation is now contained, it urged people to follow their school’s guidance on resetting their password for C2k, the EA’s educational telecommunications network.
“Our immediate priority is notifying the individuals and schools impacted by the attack,” read a statement from the authority.
“That process is being urgently progressed, guided by the final findings of the investigation and advice from the PSNI and the Information Commissioner’s Office.
“It remains the assessment of our system managers that the cyber incident is contained.
“Additional security measures were deployed at the beginning of this month on detection of the incident.
“Intensive work continues to ensure schools are fully reconnected to the C2k system and that all impacted systems return to normal.”
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