Secondary school says it may have been hit by data breach

Over 1,000 people's personal information - including graduates, students, parents, teachers, staff and tenants of the Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity - may have been compromised by hackers, according to the secondary school's vice principal, Choi Tsz-kwan.

Choi said the school's information technology staff discovered the computer server had been hacked on May 13 when they were unable to use the printer.

The compromised information includes telephone numbers, residential addresses and details about organizations renting the school's facilities for events.

To contain the breach, the school immediately shut down the campus intranet, which will remain offline until the cybersecurity risk is fully eliminated.

"While it is uncertain whether any data has been leaked, we have advised those potentially affected to be vigilant for any suspicious communication attempts," Choi said.

The school has commenced a comprehensive scanning and re-installation of the entire server and all computers - a process that is expected to take at least a week. During this time, temporary internet access plans will be set up for educational purposes.

The school has notified parents and students about the incident and apologized to those affected.

Also, to address the network security issues, the school will investigate the vulnerabilities in the hacked system and update its information security procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Choi said the school is working with a network security company to understand the situation and determine why the information security system failed to block the hacking activity.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has been notified about the incident and has commenced a compliance check. The police have also received a report and are investigating the case, though no arrests have been made so far.

The Education Bureau has urged the school to conduct a full investigation, review the security measures of its information system, and take appropriate risk-based measures to enhance network security.

"The bureau will maintain close communication with the school and provide advice and support as needed," it said.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com