Schools Cyber Protect Advice
Thames Valley Police has advised that there have been recent attempts, some of which have been successful, to gain unauthorised access to payroll accounts used by school staff across the Thames Valley area. In some cases, bank details have been changed and salary payments redirected.
Schools are encouraged to remind staff to review their payroll account security and ensure that:
- Two-step verification is enabled
- Passwords are strong, unique and not reused across other accounts
- Passkeys are enabled where available
- Banking and contact details are accurate and up to date
Further guidance on two-step verification, strong passwords and passkeys is available through the Police CyberCheck tool:
Schools may also wish to take advantage of the fully funded cyber security support available from Thames Valley Police's Cyber Protect team. This includes sessions for senior leaders and governors, staff cyber security awareness training and pupil-focused inputs..
For more information, visit the South East Cyber Resilience Centre education support page