The names and contact details of school leaders are among more than half a million records stolen by hackers in a cyber attack on the Department for Education. The Times has reported that names, job titles, telephone numbers and email addresses belonging to headteachers and senior school leaders were obtained after hackers targeted the DfE’s help portal and the Turing Scheme database. Government officials and university staff records were also obtained, with a total of 607,000 records affected in an attack last week. The DfE stressed the 607,000 figure relates to records, not individuals affected. The help portal remains closed. The DfE has referred itself to the Information Commissioner, National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). ‘Robust processes’ in place A DfE spokesperson said: “We have robust processes in place to protect information and took swift action to contain this incident. “The information involved is limited to customer service contact details relating to individuals and organisations. No other data has been accessed. We continue to work closely with the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency, and remain in contact with those affected.” The DfE said the data protection risk considered to individuals affected is not considered high. This is because the general helpdesk data breached includes different sets of data which cannot be connected, the DfE said. Schools Week asked the DfE whether those affected had been informed, but the DfE declined to comment. The DfE added that the help portal and Turning Scheme portal have switched to telephone contact while work to fix them is completed. It would not say when the portals will be running again. Both the NCA and NCSC confirmed they were supporting the DfE. An NCA spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident affecting the Department for Education and are working with partners to understand the circumstances and impact. As these enquiries are ongoing, we will not be commenting further at this time.”