Some of the laptops distributed by the UK Department for Education to disadvantaged children were found to contain malware, BBC News reported.
The laptops are distributed for free by the government to support vulnerable students who don’t have means to access remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issue was reported by teachers who shared details on an online forum about suspicious files found on devices sent to a Bradford school. The malware found on the laptops was a warm named Gamarue.I, first identified in 2012 and it appeared to be contacting Russian servers.
"Upon unboxing and preparing them, it was discovered that a number of the laptops were infected with a self-propagating network worm," said Marium Haque, deputy director of Education and Learning at Bradford Council.
A DfE official told the news outlet that the Department is aware of the issue and is conducting an investigation into the matter.
The government has so far sent schools more than 800,000 laptops, only a handful of schools appear to receive infected devices.
Gamarue.I is a worm capable of downloading files onto a PC. The malware can be installed when a spam email attachment is opened and can also copy itself to any USB flash drives connected to the computer. Gamarue.I is able to install spyware which can gather information about browsing habits, as well as harvest personal information such as banking details.