A security breach at Bristol City Council's 'Trading with Schools' service has resulted in the exposure of over 320,000 files related to 39 local schools.
The incident, which affected systems managing IT infrastructure, HR, and payroll, contradicts initial official statements that denied evidence of data theft.
The release of this data to the dark web now poses a significant risk of phishing and fraud, highlighting the importance of transparent communication during incident response.
What happened
The council detected suspicious activity on September 21, 2026, and suspended the service a few days later, on September 25. Although the head of the council had initially stated that there was no evidence of data theft, the release of the files confirmed that the perpetrators managed to gain access and leak information.
The stolen data comes from systems used by schools for lesson planning and employee data management. Authorities have not yet determined the full contents of the files or whether they contain sensitive personal information, and are continuing their investigation with the help of specialist consultants and police.
Scam warning
Following the leak, the council warned of an increased risk of scams via text or phone. Scammers may use the details they found to contact staff, parents or students, pretending to be from an official source.
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Authorities recommend that citizens be particularly careful with unexpected messages and follow basic protection measures:
- Use strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts.
- Activate the two-step verification method, which requires an additional code sent to your mobile phone in addition to your password.
- Be suspicious of messages that request urgent action or personal information.
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