The chief regulator of Ofqual has warned exam boards about the increasing need for cyber security, saying that a breach could cause significant harm to pupils.

Sally Collier has said that security risks come not only from hackers, but also from people sending emails to the wrong recipients.

In a speech delivered at an Ofqual conference attended by exam boards, Ms Collier spoke of the need to take very seriously the “increasing threat” of cybersecurity breach and information loss.

“We bring together and hold lots of data: so do you…from the security of confidential assessment materials, to results that need to be kept confidential until they are released,” she said.

“The consequences of a serious breach here would be very significant, in terms of harm to learners, reputational risk, financial risk.”

Human error

Ms Collier added: “Some of those risks relate to potential serious threats and serious hacking threats and, of course, it is important to have systems and processes in place to be able to detect those and have contingency plans if such a thing happens.” 

However, she said, many of the cybersecurity risks faced by exam boards are much lower level, resulting from human error rather than any malign intent.

“The Information Commissioner said recently they have seen a 46 per cent rise in reported cases of emails being sent to the incorrect recipients,” she said. “That is something we can all take action on today.”

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