Devenish College: Fermanagh pupils among those affected by cyber attack on schools

Cyber Attack Disrupts Northern Ireland’s C2K School System Ahead of Exams

Northern Ireland’s C2K school IT system, managed by Capita, was targeted in a cyber attack, causing significant disruption for pupils and staff, particularly those preparing for exams. The Education Authority (EA) described the incident as "very serious" and issued an apology to affected students unable to access critical resources during the Easter revision period.

Upon detecting the attack, Capita immediately contained the breach and launched an investigation. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether personal data was compromised. As a precaution, the EA implemented a full password reset across the school network, prioritizing students due to sit exams. The incident is being treated as a high-priority security matter, with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and other relevant authorities engaged in the response.

Devenish College in Enniskillen confirmed that students temporarily lost access to their C2K accounts, impacting revision and coursework. To restore access for Years 11–14, students or parents must submit a Password Request Form, with reset credentials sent to an alternate email. Years 8–10 will have passwords reset in school after the Easter break.

The investigation remains ongoing, with no further details on the attack’s origin or scope released at this time.

Source: https://www.impartialreporter.com/news/25995611.fermanagh-pupils-among-affected-cyber-attack-schools/

Department of Education cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/department-of-education-ni

"id": "DEP1775305865",
"linkid": "department-of-education-ni",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "4/2026",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Pupils and staff, particularly '
                                              'Years 11–14',
                        'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Northern Ireland',
                        'name': 'C2K school IT system',
                        'type': 'Education IT System'},
                       {'customers_affected': 'Students (Years 8–14)',
                        'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Enniskillen, Northern Ireland',
                        'name': 'Devenish College',
                        'type': 'School'},
                       {'industry': 'Technology/IT Services',
                        'name': 'Capita',
                        'type': 'IT Service Provider'},
                       {'industry': 'Education/Government',
                        'location': 'Northern Ireland',
                        'name': 'Education Authority (EA)',
                        'type': 'Government Authority'}],
 'customer_advisories': 'Apology issued to affected students; instructions for '
                        'password reset provided',
 'data_breach': {'type_of_data_compromised': 'Personal data (unconfirmed)'},
 'description': 'Northern Ireland’s C2K school IT system, managed by Capita, '
                'was targeted in a cyber attack, causing significant '
                'disruption for pupils and staff, particularly those preparing '
                'for exams. The Education Authority (EA) described the '
                "incident as 'very serious' and issued an apology to affected "
                'students unable to access critical resources during the '
                'Easter revision period.',
 'impact': {'operational_impact': 'Disruption for pupils and staff, '
                                  'particularly those preparing for exams; '
                                  'inability to access critical resources '
                                  'during the Easter revision period',
            'systems_affected': 'C2K school IT system'},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'references': [{'source': 'Cyber Incident Description'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'Information '
                                                       'Commissioner’s Office '
                                                       '(ICO) engaged'},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Apology issued to affected students; '
                                        'advisories to schools and students',
              'containment_measures': 'Capita immediately contained the breach',
              'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes',
              'recovery_measures': 'Reset credentials sent to alternate emails '
                                   'for Years 11–14; Years 8–10 to have '
                                   'passwords reset in school after Easter '
                                   'break',
              'remediation_measures': 'Full password reset across the school '
                                      'network; Password Request Form for '
                                      'students'},
 'stakeholder_advisories': 'Education Authority issued advisories to schools '
                           'and students',
 'title': 'Cyber Attack Disrupts Northern Ireland’s C2K School System Ahead of '
          'Exams',
 'type': 'Cyber Attack'}