Top 10 Emerging Cybersecurity Risks for Schools and Trusts

Cyber risk in schools is no longer a technical issue; it is a strategic governance challenge that directly affects safeguarding, operational resilience, trust, and public accountability.

School systems have become data-rich, cloud-dependent and operationally complex. That transformation has expanded opportunity but also exposure. For school leaders and trust boards, cyber risk now sits alongside safeguarding, finance and estates as a core leadership responsibility. Below are ten emerging risks that senior leaders should be actively governing, not delegating.

1. Ransomware targeting operational disruption

• Schools are increasingly targeted not for data resale but for disruption. Timetabling, MIS platforms and payroll systems are high leverage pressure points.

• What leaders can do: Prioritise offline, immutable backups, rehearse system restoration, and ensure ransomware scenarios are embedded within business continuity and crisis communications planning.

2. Phishing sophistication driven by AI

• Research from the National Cyber Security Centre shows phishing remains the primary entry vector. Generative AI has made messages context-aware and highly convincing.

• What leaders can do: Move beyond annual training to continuous, simulated phishing programmes and enforce technical controls such as DMARC, MFA and conditional access.

3. Supply chain compromise through edtech vendors

• Cloud MIS, HR and safeguarding platforms create extended attack surfaces. A single compromised supplier can impact dozens of schools simultaneously.

• What leaders can do: Require suppliers to evidence security standards, incident response capability and breach notification timelines within procurement and contract management processes.

“The education sector’s resources and funding don’t go toward the latest cybersecurity tools, so a free and easy-to-understand service to improve cyber hygiene is essential.” - Suzan Sakarya, Senior Manager EMEIA Security Strategy at Jamf

4. Identity sprawl and poor access hygiene

• Staff turnover, supply teachers and multiple platforms lead to excessive permissions. Identity and access management failures now rival malware as a root cause.

• What leaders can do: Implement centralised identity management, role-based access and automated leaver processes reviewed at leadership level.

5. Legacy infrastructure hidden in plain sight

• Older networks, unsupported operating systems and on-site servers remain common in schools and trusts, creating silent but critical vulnerabilities.

• What leaders can do: Commission regular asset audits and align capital investment decisions to cyber risk reduction, not short-term cost savings.

6. Data protection fatigue

• GDPR compliance is often procedural rather than risk-based. Overfamiliarity with data handling reduces vigilance around sensitive pupil and staff information.

• What leaders can do: Shift GDPR oversight toward impact-based risk reviews, focusing board attention on the most sensitive datasets.

The most serious school cyber incidents rarely stem from sophisticated hackers; they arise from leadership blind spots, fragmented ownership, and underinvestment in governance-led resilience.

7. Safeguarding systems as high-value targets

• Child protection and SEND data carry significant ethical and reputational risk. Breaches here damage trust far beyond financial cost.

• What leaders can do: Apply enhanced access controls, encryption and logging to safeguarding platforms, with senior accountability clearly assigned.

8. Incident response immaturity

• Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report consistently highlights slow detection and response. Many schools still lack rehearsed cyber incident playbooks.

• What leaders can do: Develop and rehearse cyber incident playbooks involving leadership, legal, communications and safeguarding leads.

“With a growing range of cyber threats, it has never been more important to protect our educational environments from online threats.” - Sarah Lyons, Deputy Director for Economy and Society at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)

9. Cyber insurance false reassurance

• Insurance does not replace resilience. Policies increasingly exclude ransomware payouts or require security controls many schools do not yet meet.

• What leaders can do: Treat insurance as a backstop, ensuring required security controls are met and understood at board level.

10. Board-level cyber illiteracy

• Cyber risk is often reported as technical status updates rather than strategic risk narratives. Boards need clarity, not jargon.

• What leaders can do: Reframe cyber reporting around impact, likelihood and mitigation, supported by independent assurance where possible.

What effective leadership looks like now

Leading schools treat cyber as a governance issue, embedding ownership at board level, aligning investment to educational resilience, and recognising that trust, safeguarding and operational continuity now depend on informed, strategic cyber leadership decisions made before an incident occurs.

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School Leader is a UK publication providing practical insight and guidance for senior education leaders, helping decision-makers navigate leadership, finance, governance, and operational challenges with confidence.

We deliver expert analysis, sector news, and practical solutions tailored to the strategic, financial, and operational realities of schools and academy trusts across primary, secondary, and higher education.