WIREDGOV

Following the successful initial roll out of PDNS for Schools last year, all schools in the UK can now benefit from the enhanced cyber resilience service.

Schools are being encouraged to sign up for a free cyber defence service from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ – which helps block online threats such as malware, ransomware and phishing attacks.
 
Following a successful initial rollout of the PDNS (Protective Domain Name System) for Schools, the service has now been extended to more educational settings across the UK, with multi-academy trusts, academies, independent schools and school internet service providers encouraged to sign up.
 
The service, which is part of the recently announced partnership with Cloudflare and Accenture, prevents access to websites which are known to be malicious, limiting access to domains hosting malware, ransomware and spyware.
 
It means more schools – regardless of their resources or status – can now benefit from enhanced cyber resilience. 
 
Schools continue to face a range of cyber threats to their systems with recently published figures from Ofqual showing more than a third of schools and colleges in England has experienced a cyber incident during the last academic year.
 
Local authorities, eligible public sector networks from devolved administrations of the UK and local authorities in England that provide DNS to their maintained schools are already eligible to sign up. 

NCSC Deputy Director for Economy and Society, Sarah Lyons, said:

"With a growing range of cyber threats, it has never been more important to protect our educational environments from online threats. 
 
“The PDNS for Schools service offers a crucial layer of protection, helping schools defend against common online threats, at no cost. 
 
“I encourage all schools to take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their cyber resilience and ensure a safer digital future for students and staff alike."

Department for Education Minister for Early Education, Stephen Morgan, said:

“I know how important it is that our schools, colleges and nurseries are protected from online threats, and our work to help these settings improve their cyber security never stops.
 
“We have worked closely with the National Cyber Security Centre on this service to ensure all schools can now benefit from enhanced cyber resilience at no cost to them and I encourage settings to take advantage of this enhanced protection.”

PDNS for Schools is part of a wider cyber security offer of actionable advice, guidance and tools that the NCSC has provided to help schools to improve their cyber security.

All educational organisations can sign up for ‘PDNS for Schools’ by asking their DNS provider to register for PDNS through MyNCSC.