Parents in Northern Ireland have been warned to watch for suspicious emails and phone calls after a data breach at a school app used by almost 50,000 people.

The Equipple app, used by many schools to schedule and book meetings between parents and teachers, was affected by unauthorised access to part of its cloud-hosted systems. Schools have written to families warning them that parent contact details and some pupil information may have been accessed.

What information was involved

According to communications sent by schools to parents, the compromised data included parent and carer contact details such as telephone numbers, home addresses and email addresses. Pupil information that may have been accessed included names, dates of birth and registration groups.

One school's notification to parents, seen by BBC News, described the intrusion as having been identified immediately upon discovery. Families were advised to remain vigilant about any unexpected emails, telephone calls or other communications that mention them, their child or their school.

The breach affected a limited period before it was detected and halted, according to the reports. Equipple said it identified the unauthorised access and immediately activated its incident response procedures.

Equipple says systems are secure

In a statement to BBC News NI, an Equipple spokesperson said the company was taking the matter extremely seriously and that there was no evidence of any ongoing unauthorised access to the platform. The company said it had secured the affected systems and, with the support of independent cybersecurity specialists, had put additional safeguards in place.

"Equipple recently identified unauthorised access to part of its cloud-hosted environment and immediately activated its incident response procedures," the company said. "We secured the affected systems and, with the support of independent cybersecurity specialists, have implemented additional safeguards."

The Education Authority's information governance team has been engaged and is advising schools on their data protection duties and next steps. Schools have been told to communicate directly with parents and carers, giving them advice about the incident.

Wider pattern of school cyber incidents

The Equipple breach is the latest in a series of cyber incidents affecting education in Northern Ireland. Earlier in 2026, 16 additional schools were warned of possible data breaches following a separate cyber-attack on the C2k school network, with the Education Authority still carrying out forensic investigations into that incident.

Parents have been advised to be cautious because criminals may try to exploit exposed contact details for phishing or social engineering. Schools are continuing to work with the Education Authority to assess the full scope of the incident and to decide whether further protective steps are needed for affected families.

Anyone who receives an unexpected message claiming to come from their child's school should check it through the school's usual contact details rather than clicking links or sharing personal information in reply.