Ethical Hacking News
A UK education trust has warned its staff that their personal information may have been compromised following a cyberattack on software developer Intradev. The breach highlights the ongoing cybersecurity challenges facing the sector and underscores the need for increased awareness and cooperation among institutions, developers, and service providers.
The recent breach at Intradev has sent shockwaves throughout the UK education sector, highlighting the need for robust cybersecurity measures. The incident involved the unauthorized access of sensitive staff information, including names, addresses, passport numbers, and National Insurance numbers. Affinity Learning Partnership, a trust operating seven schools with over 650 staff members, was affected by the breach. Stolen OAuth tokens exposed Palo Alto customer data in a separate incident, highlighting ongoing cybersecurity challenges. The breach demonstrates how third-party service providers can create unexpected security risks for organizations. The incident highlights the need for increased awareness and cooperation among education institutions, software developers, and third-party service providers to prevent similar breaches.
The recent breach at software developer Intradev has sent shockwaves throughout the UK education sector, highlighting the need for robust cybersecurity measures and increased awareness among institutions. The incident, which occurred in August, involved the unauthorized access of sensitive staff information, including names, addresses, passport numbers, and National Insurance numbers.
Intradev, a Hull-based company that provides bespoke software solutions to clients, detected the breach on August 4. One of its customers, Access Personal Checking Services (APCS), a provider of criminal record checks for employers, warned its customers of potential data exposure. OnlineSCR, a sister company to APCS, specializes in recruitment and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for UK schools, making it a repository for highly sensitive staff information.
The breach had far-reaching consequences for Affinity Learning Partnership, a UK education trust that operates seven schools and employs over 650 staff members. Following the incident, the trust sent notifications to affected employees, cautioning that their personal data might have been leaked. The letter from Affinity added: "We understand that some of you may wish/be advised to replace your driving licence or passport, although guidance from the Information Commissioner's Officer (ICO) is that this is not necessarily required."
Stolen OAuth tokens exposed Palo Alto customer data in a separate incident, highlighting the ongoing cybersecurity challenges facing UK education institutions. Schools and trusts often become attractive targets for cybercriminals due to their combination of valuable personal data and typically limited IT security budgets.
The breach also demonstrates how third-party service providers can create unexpected security risks, even for organizations that may have robust direct security measures. Affinity has tried to protect affected staff by offering two years of CIFAS protective registration, a service that means any organization using the CIFAS fraud prevention database will conduct additional identity verification checks before processing applications in the affected individuals' names.
The incident highlights the need for increased awareness and cooperation among education institutions, software developers, and third-party service providers to prevent similar breaches in the future. It also underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures, such as encryption, secure data storage, and regular backups, to protect sensitive information.
As the UK education sector continues to navigate the complexities of cyberattacks, it is essential that institutions prioritize cybersecurity and take proactive steps to protect their staff's personal data. The Affinity Learning Partnership breach serves as a wake-up call, emphasizing the need for vigilance, cooperation, and robust security measures to safeguard against similar incidents in the future.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/The-Devastating-Knock-on-Effects-of-a-Cyberattack-on-Software-Developer-Intradev-A-Wake-Up-Call-for-UK-Education-Institutions-ehn.shtml
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/uk_schools_intradev_breach/
https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/05/uk_schools_intradev_breach/
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-school-districts-facing-extortion-attempt-after-hack-software-provider-says-2025-05-07/
Published: Fri Sep 5 05:03:17 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
