Inverclyde schools and nurseries lost internet connectivity on Monday after a phishing attack compromised a senior education official's email account. The council disabled network access as a safety measure to investigate a fraudulent message sent to parents that mimicked the branding of a local primary school.
Authorities in Inverclyde were forced to disconnect internet services across the entire school and nursery estate following a targeted cyber security breach. The disruption began on Monday as officials moved to contain the fallout from a compromised staff account. This preventative measure was taken to ensure the council could thoroughly investigate the origins and reach of a fraudulent communication that had been distributed through official channels.
The security alert was triggered by an email that appeared to be sent by the head teacher of St Mary’s Primary School in Greenock. This message was sent out to parents but was quickly identified as a phishing scam designed to deceive recipients. By posing as a trusted authority figure, the attackers hoped to gain the trust of the school community during their daily interactions.
Investigation into the message revealed it contained a PDF attachment titled with a reference to participant approval. Inside this document was a link leading to an external website. Although the landing page was deceptive and featured the official logo and values of St Mary’s Primary, it was confirmed to be a sophisticated fake designed to harvest information.
In response to the threat, the council activated its formal incident response protocols and took the proactive step of taking school networks offline. This caused significant administrative hurdles, as staff were unable to access their emails and early years centres were cut off from digital resources. Parents were also cautioned that the disruption might interfere with the mobile applications used to pre-order school meals for their children.
To mitigate the damage, a follow-up warning was issued to everyone who may have received the malicious email. Recipients were strictly advised to avoid clicking the included link. For those who had already opened the website, the council provided urgent instructions to refrain from entering any personal or sensitive information into the fraudulent forms.
Source: Phishing Email Knocks Inverclyde Schools Offline Across District