One of Britain’s most exclusive boarding schools has been targeted by hackers in the latest cyber attack to hit Scotland.
Fettes College, which was attended by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, has confirmed that its IT systems were hacked in May when criminals ‘sought to defraud’ some of its families.
Parents pay more than £40,000 a year for their children to attend the Edinburgh school and it is understood a ‘handful’ of families of prospective students were conned out of ‘large sums’ of money when their details were illegally obtained by the hackers.
The school would not go into details of the incident but said it was taking the matter ‘very seriously’ and a ‘full investigation’ has been launched.
Police Scotland last night said it was investigating a cyber attack at the school which happened on May 29.
A Fettes College spokesman said: ‘We have been subject to a cyber-incident affecting a limited part of our IT system whereby criminals sought to defraud some of our families. This occurred in May, and we took immediate steps to resolve the situation as soon as we became aware of it and reported the matter to the appropriate authorities.’
They added: ‘We advised parents of our current and prospective students to be alert to any communication from Fettes that might seem unusual, and to contact us directly if they have any concerns or queries.
‘Fettes is taking this incident very seriously and a full investigation, with the assistance of external IT experts, is underway.’
It is the latest cyber attack to hit Scotland with NHS Dumfries and Galloway, Western Isles Council and the University of the West of Scotland University all targeted in the past 12 months.
Hackers stole and published more than three terabytes of ‘staff and patient-identifiable’ data after hacking NHS Dumfries and Galloway’s IT system in February. This forced the chief executive Julie White last month to write to every household in the region to tell them to assume they had been targeted.
Western Isles Council systems were also brought down by cyber criminals in November.
And last July, a ransom gang called Rhysida demanded £450,000 worth of bitcoin from the University of West of Scotland after stealing student National Insurance numbers and staff bank details.
Car dealer Arnold Clark and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) were also targeted in similar ‘ransomware’ attacks in recent years.
In 2022 Arnold Clark customers had information including addresses, passports and national insurance numbers leaked on the dark web by criminal gang Play.
Sepa was targeted in December 2020, when it had more than 4,000 digital files stolen after a similar cyber attack that cost it £5.5million.
Fettes College, often regarded as the ‘Eton of the North’ has some of the most expensive fees – reaching more than £15,000 a term – in the country.
Other famous former pupils of Fettes College include Dr Strange actress Tilda Swinton and former Rangers Football Club owner David Murray.
The impressive 19th century building set in 100 acres of ground is also thought to have provided inspiration for Hogwarts in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter world.
Police Scotland said it was ‘aware of a cyber attack at Fettes College in Edinburgh which occurred on May 29, 2024’.
A spokesman added: ‘Enquiries are ongoing and officers are providing support to those affected.’
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