No cyberattack involved in releasing incorrect P1 allocation results, Education Bureau says

The Education Bureau said on Tuesday that no cyberattacks or hacking were involved in the release of incorrect Primary One Central Allocation results.

Some parents received erroneous allocation messages on Tuesday morning, including the wrong year and incorrect registration dates, about a day ahead of the official announcement.

The Bureau urged recipients to disregard the messages and apologized for the inconvenience caused. It said the system was promptly fixed.

It stated in a statement that the incorrect messages would not affect the allocation results. 

The Bureau reiterated that the official allocation results for all primary school places across Hong Kong, with complete and accurate registration details, will be announced as scheduled at 7.30 am on Wednesday (Jun 3).

A spokesperson emphasized that the Education Bureau’s information systems have always been reliable. After a comprehensive and immediate review by the technical team, it was confirmed that the system was not subjected to any cyberattacks or hacking and that the core database remains intact.

The Bureau said the incident is completely unrelated to information security or network security. It added that parents’ and students’ personal data is highly encrypted and protected.

Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin said the bureau takes the matter seriously and has set up a crisis management team to follow up. It will also conduct a comprehensive review of the system, procedures, and staff coordination.

If any negligence or procedural errors are found, the bureau will follow up seriously to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again, she added.

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