Blackburn College shares lessons on recovering from a cyber attack in new film

Our film tells the story of how the college faced an attempted disruption shortly before student examinations and an Ofsted inspection, and the decisions that helped to minimise impact on students and staff.

At a time when cyber threats continue to evolve, the film also demonstrates the value of sector-wide expertise, collaboration and preparation in helping institutions respond quickly and effectively when incidents occur.

Jennifer Eastham, vice principal of finance and corporate services at Blackburn College, said:

"Before the attack, I didn't really know what Jisc did. Now, I know Jisc is worth every penny. The support they provided us was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if we'd had to pay out of pocket for it."

When the attack was discovered during the October half-term break, Blackburn College immediately contacted our computer security incident response team (CSIRT). Working alongside the college, we helped to contain the incident, guide recovery efforts and support communication with key stakeholders.

Despite the disruption, the college continued teaching, maintained support for learners and successfully navigated an Ofsted inspection during the recovery period.

Bella Abrams, head of group CTO at Jisc, said:

"We can act as a single community, working with and for our members. The Janet Network and our cyber security services are intertwined, allowing us to understand threats as they exist across the entire ecosystem of education and research within the UK."

The film forms part of our ongoing work to help education and research organisations strengthen cyber resilience through expert guidance, incident response support, community intelligence and sector-wide collaboration.

As cyber threats continue to increase in scale and sophistication, we continue to work with members across the UK to strengthen preparedness, share insight and help organisations respond effectively when incidents occur.

Watch the film and find out more about our cyber security services.