Chichester school hacking: $100,000 sought for release of children's addresses, exam papers and HR files, sources say

Bishop Luffa School and Rumboldswhyke Primary School were targeted by a ransomware attack on Thursday (March 9) which affected the schools phonelines and website. According to sources which allege to have visited the hacker’s dark website, sensitive information includes the addresses of students and staff, several examination papers, and human resource files.

The criminals are said to be demanding $100,000 for the files to be deleted and the school has less than a week to pay. There is also allegedly an option to extend the deadline by one day for $10,000.

This newspaper has not accessed the dark web and so claims cannot be entirely verified.

Sussex Police officers are said to be investigating the leak.

Earlier today (Tuesday, March 14), the school’s headteacher Austen Hindman said in a statement: “As a school we do not have the financial means to pay a ransom. Even if we did, it would be a poor lesson to our students if we gave in to bullying. It is hard to understand why someone would choose to steal from and vandalise a school and use information about children for financial gain. The Bishop Luffa community has been amazing in its support. We have been inundated with offers of help and with personal experiences of attacks like this that we can learn from. I would like to thank everyone who is praying for us at this time.”

You can read Mr Hindman’s full statement here: Hackers threaten to release sensitive information from Chichester schools following ransomware attack