Australian Education Cyber Attack, 8 July 2021

NSW Education department hit by cyber attack just days before school term resumes.

The attack had forced it to deactivate “a number of internal systems as a precaution”

Department Statement: NSW Department of Education networks | 08 July 2021
Source: NSW Education department hit by cyber attack | iTnews

View other incidents relating to Education and Training and New South Wales.

The NSW Department of Education has been hit by a cyber attack just hours after it instructed its schools to prepare for a week of remote learning, leaving teachers and principals without access to their email, coronavirus guidelines or online learning materials.

Online portals used by both staff and students are both impacted

An education department source familiar with the attack said that, in line with security advice, the outage was initially reported as scheduled maintenance.

But NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell confirmed the department had been the victim of a cyber-security attack in a tweet issued on Thursday afternoon

The department is currently working with Cyber Security NSW to restore normal access in time for the start of the term, and has also referred the matter to NSW Police and federal authorities.