London
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The UK press reports that photos, addresses, data including names of more than 8,000 children, and names of more than 8,000 children have been stolen by cyberhackers.
Hackers have published stolen photos and profiles from Kido Nursery Group on the Dark Web, and the UK’s PA Media News Agency reports citing the BBC and demanding ransom money from the company.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police in London told CNN:
Questions are ongoing and remain in the early stages within the police cybercrime division, the spokesman added. No arrests have been made.
Briony Wild, whose children attend Kid Nursery in London, said the children are “completely innocent victims.”
“They are kids. Their personal details should be of no value,” she said. “Perhaps we’re ready to go a little more to protect our children’s privacy and personal details,” Wilde told the BBC.
The National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC), a technical authority for cybersecurity in the UK, described the reported incident as “deeply painful.”
“Reportings of highly sensitive data stolen in a cyber incident affecting nursery schools is deeply painful,” said NCSC national resilient Jonathon Ellison.
“It’s particularly bad for cybercriminals to target anyone who thinks they have the money to make and chase after those who care for their children.”
He added that the NCSC is offering custom guidance to help early settings such as nurses protect themselves from attacks.
“When a hacker chases a hospital, a school, or in this case, a nursery, it feels like a low-minded person,” said Mantas Sabeckis, an infose security researcher at independent media outlet Cybernews. CyberNews describes itself as using ethical hacking techniques to disclose cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.
He added that the type of data stolen in the incident will be reported to be “already capable of stalking, harassing or even targeting families who may already be vulnerable.”
CNN contacted the Kido Nursery chain for comment.
On the website, Kido says it is owned and operated by a group of parents around the world. “We currently have schools all over the world, which brings together the best early childhood practices in the world, providing the best kindergarten experience for both children and parents.”
