With schools closed to the majority of children due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government offered children without access to the computers free laptops.
Now it has become apparent that some of the computers contained malware that contacted Russian servers and put private data at risk.
The government had pledged to give over a million computers and other devices to disadvantaged children and over 800,000 have already been deployed. However, this revelation suggests that the plan isn’t working as well as hoped.
Marium Haque, deputy director of Education and Learning at Bradford Council said, “Upon unboxing and preparing them, it was discovered that a number of the laptops were infected with a self-propagating network worm.”
This type of malware is spyware which is able to steal browsing data, personal information and private data such as banking details and passwords.
In a statement given to the BBC, the Department for Education said, “We are aware of an issue with a small number of devices. And we are investigating as an urgent priority to resolve the matter as soon as possible. DfE IT teams are in touch with those who have reported this issue. We believe this is not widespread.”
Schools have also been advised to check their networks for any signs of interference.