<div dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/personal-details-of-up-to-30-000-teachers-at-risk-following-cyberattack-1.3226664">https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/personal-details-of-up-to-30-000-teachers-at-risk-following-cyberattack-1.3226664</a><div><br></div><div><p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">Up to 30,000 teachers have been
warned that their personal data may have been compromised after a union
website was hacked in recent days.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">The Irish National Teachers’
Organisation (INTO) has written to teachers and retired staff who have
completed courses on its learning website <a href="http://www">(intolearning.ie</a>) to warn that its security systems were breached.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">However, it has assured individuals that no financial or credit card details were compromised due to the breach.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">It said course payments are processed separately via a secure third-party processing facility called Realex. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">In addition, it says all passwords were stored in an encrypted format to ensure their security.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">The union has emphasised that the
INTO’s learning website is separate from its membership database and no
information from this was compromised in the attack.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">In an email to those affected,
INTO assistant general secretary Peter Mullan said individuals’ names,
email addresses, city, country, gender and logged information from
online courses may have been accessed.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">In a limited amount of cases, he said mobile numbers, school roll numbers, roles in school, INTO membership numbers and <a class="gmail-search" href="https://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Teaching%20Council&article=true">Teaching Council</a> registration numbers may also have been compromised. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">“While we have no evidence to
suggest this data was in fact stolen, the data was potentially at risk
and thus potentially accessible to the third party behind the breach,”
Mr Mullan wrote in an email.</p>
<h4 class="gmail-crosshead">Spam base</h4>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">He said the initial investigation into the breach had identified the use of the server as a base to send spam messages. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">The evidence suggested that this was the primary, if not only goal, of the breach. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">“We have taken down the website as
a precaution and are awaiting a full report on the attack from the
company responsible for the management of the website,” Mr Mullan wrote.</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">“When the website is back up and
running we advise that you change your password as a precautionary
measure. We also suggest that you treat any unusual emails or requests
for further information with caution.” </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">He said that while the potential risk posed by this incident was low, the union was treating it very seriously. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">“We have informed the <a class="gmail-search" href="https://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Office%20of%20the%20Data%20Protection%20Commissioner&article=true">Office of the Data Protection Commissioner</a> of the breach and are taking advice and direction from them. We have also notified the gardaí.”</p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">It says its taking immediate steps to investigate breach and to review security on the INTO Learning website. </p>
<p class="gmail-no_name gmail-selectionShareable">It is also commissioning a cyber
security consultant to determine how the breach occurred and to avoid
any reoccurrence in the future.</p><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><br><br clear="all"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><b><span style="font-size:10pt"></span></b><span style="font-size:10pt"></span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"></span><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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