An IT contractor working with UK schools has recounted finding a headteacher's laptop secured with the username "headteacher" and password "headteacher", written on a sticker attached to the device itself. Kevin Walker, who shared the story in The Register's weekly "PWNED" column, warned that such lax security on a senior staff member's laptop could expose pupils' personal information, internal communications and sensitive school files to anyone who found or stole the device, effectively giving criminals a way into the school without setting foot inside.

Walker described numerous other security failings encountered while working in schools, including a shared spreadsheet named "Passwords.xlsx" accessible to students, active accounts belonging to former staff, a permanently connected backup drive vulnerable to being wiped alongside live data, a Wi-Fi password displayed on a whiteboard, and a CCTV system still running Windows XP long after it stopped receiving support. He attributed these lapses to schools' limited budgets and a widespread failure among staff and management to prioritise cybersecurity, recommending simple fixes such as password managers, multi-factor authentication, regular account reviews and backup testing.