Teen students responsible for majority of school hacks

"The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) looked at 215 data breach cases at schools between January 2022 and August 2024, noting that 57 percent were caused by students, and almost a third (30 percent) were caused by stolen login details. In the case of stolen logins - either by students seeing others input credentials and remembering, or simply reading them noted down on paper - pupils were behind 97 percent of these attacks."

"What starts out as a dare, a challenge, a bit of fun in a school setting can ultimately lead to children taking part in damaging attacks on organizations or critical infrastructure. It's important that we understand the next generation's interests and motivations in the online world to ensure children remain on the right side of the law and progress into rewarding careers in a sector in constant need of specialists."

The ICO reviewed 215 school data breach cases from January 2022 to August 2024 and found 57 percent were caused by students. Stolen login details accounted for almost 30 percent of breaches, and pupils were responsible for 97 percent of those stolen-login incidents. Only 5 percent of cases involved sophisticated techniques to bypass security controls. Insider threat in education is poorly understood and largely unremedied, with early risky behaviours able to escalate into damaging attacks on organizations or critical infrastructure. The ICO urges parental intervention, asks schools to remove temptation, and notes school staff also cause a significant share of breaches.

Read at Theregister