We’re delighted to welcome Voyage Education Partnership as the latest Community Ambassador at the East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre.

Voyage Education Partnership is a charitable education Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) based in Lincolnshire who are dedicated to working with their 9 primary and secondary academies.

These academies (Boston Pioneers Academy, Carlton Road Academy, Fishtoft Academy, Gosberton Academy, Haven High Academy, Old Leake Primary Academy, Park Academy, Staniland Academy and Wygate Park Academy) will be onboarded as community members of the EMCRC as a result of Voyage’s decision to join as a Community Ambassador.

The Trust's core aim is to create centres of excellence within, and for, the communities they serve. Their commitment to cyber security shows those communities that they are also dedicated to safety and security, key elements of any MAT.

They will become the latest Community Ambassador to join the Centre, working towards increasing awareness of cyber security and crime within the education sector.

Schools hold a great amount of sensitive data, which means they are a target for cyber criminals. Therefore, Voyage Education Partnership believe it is imperative that schools bolster their cyber security levels to better protect this data and to lessen the threat of an attack.

The education sector is frequently viewed as an easy target because schools and universities generally have restricted cyber security finances and may lack the necessary assets to sufficiently safeguard themselves against cyber attacks. Criminals may take advantage of system flaws such as antiquated software, insecure passwords, or unsecured networks.

The recent 2023 Cyber Security Breaches Survey showed:

• The percentage of organisations that have identified breaches or attacks in the last 12 months; the lowest was 41% for Primary Schools, rising to 63% for secondary schools and 82% for colleges.
• Half of universities reported experiencing breaches or attacks at least weekly.
• Phishing attacks on schools and colleges remain the most popular method of attack, with 84% of primary schools, 86% of secondary schools and 92% of colleges experiencing phishing attacks in the last 12 months.

Community Ambassadors are local companies who understand the importance of cyber resilience and who want to spread that message as wide as they can.

They do vital work, supporting the EMCRC’s message through raising awareness of our aims and objectives and directing their customers, business communities and supply chains to take advantage to the EMCRC's free membership and affordable services.

Luke Vere, Digital Services Manager at Voyage Education Partnership said:

“We are pleased to be Community Ambassadors of the Cyber Resilience Centre for the East Midlands. As part of this collaboration we will continue to increase awareness of cyber security and crime in education.

"With schools holding vast amounts of sensitive data on their pupils, and with an increasing number of schools becoming victims of cyber attacks such as ransomware, it is crucial that they begin to treat cyber security with the same level of importance as they do safeguarding. The EMCRC share our concern and offer great resources to schools to better protect and prepare themselves against such threats.

"I look forward to working alongside their MD, DI Colin Ellis, and his team as we embark on this journey to help ensure that schools in the East Midlands are better equipped against cyber and online threats.”

DI Colin Ellis, MD and Police Lead at the EMCRC, added:

"I’m really pleased that Voyage Education Partnership have joined us as one of our Community Ambassadors. The education sector remains a prime target for cyber criminals. Voyage understand that cyber security and cyber resilience is a must for successful operations and to safeguard the data of both learners and staff - which is a prized commodity for cyber criminals.

"Voyage have 9 schools within their umbrella, serving 3,500 children and 510 members of staff. With Voyage signing up to work with us, that’s 9 Lincolnshire schools who can now access our services, helping Voyage to keep them prepared and better protected.

"The heads of those schools can now demonstrate to their 3,500 children's parents that they take the security of their children’s data very seriously. I hope other academies see Voyage's example and take similar action."

Voyage Education Partnership are a great addition to the EMCRC's Community Ambassador group, and it shows our ambition as a Centre that we wish to partner with outstanding businesses and organisations.

But our ambition doesn’t end there. We’re seeking the support of other distinguished businesses and motivational business leaders by joining us, not just as Community Ambassadors, but as Community Members, Friends of the Centre or Board members. We now have the scope for businesses to join us on various levels of affiliation.

If you would like to support our work and join our community, or feel you can bring equal skill, vision and ingenuity to the Centre in other areas, then please contact us via our website or contact Colin Ellis via his LinkedIn account.

Reporting

Report all Fraud and Cybercrime to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or online. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report SMS scams by forwarding the original message to 7726 (spells SPAM on the keypad).