With reports of a potential hack from abroad, at least a dozen schools throughout New Zealand have received bomb threats that have caused significant inconvenience. As a result, several of the impacted schools&nbsp;spread across Ashburton, Dunstan, Geraldine, Greymouth, Kaikoura, Levin, Masterton, Queenstown, Rolleston, Takaka, Palmerston Northwere, and Whanganui, were either evacuated or locked down.

The disruption on Thursday came 24 hours after four New Zealand schools in the North Island cities of Gisborne, Thames, and Waikato received threats via threat calls that later proved to be fake.

Cherie Taylor-Patel, president of the Principals' Federation of New Zealand, told public radio station Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that she had discussed the incidents with the Ministry of Education.

"The ministry has said that their understanding is that this was actually a cyberbot coming in from overseas," Taylor-Patel said.

"Today’s incidents were really unexpected, unprovoked and really distressing for those communities involved," she added. "It’s not something that anyone is prepared for and it’s something that no one wants to&nbsp;happen."

Although the calls "do not appear to be a safety concern," the New Zealand Police stated in a statement that it was still taking the threats "very seriously." According to the force, officers "were making inquiries to discover the source of the fake calls."

According to reports up to this point, no explosives have been discovered at any of the institutions the calls were directed towards. Police in New Zealand are looking into the potential that the threats are originating from outside, according to Assistant Commissioner Bruce O'Brien.

(With inputs from agencies)

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With reports of a potential hack from abroad, at least a dozen schools throughout New Zealand have received bomb threats that have caused significant inconvenience.

With reports of a potential hack from abroad, at least a dozen schools throughout New Zealand have received bomb threats that have caused significant inconvenience. As a result, several of the impacted schools spread across Ashburton, Dunstan, Geraldine, Greymouth, Kaikoura, Levin, Masterton, Queenstown, Rolleston, Takaka, Palmerston Northwere, and Whanganui, were either evacuated or locked down. The disruption on Thursday came 24 hours after four New Zealand schools in the North Island cities of Gisborne, Thames, and Waikato received threats via threat calls that later proved to be fake. Cherie Taylor-Patel, president of the Principals' Federation of New Zealand, told public radio station Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that she had discussed the incidents with the Ministry of Education. "The ministry has said that their understanding is that this was actually a cyberbot coming in from overseas," Taylor-Patel said. "Today’s incidents were really unexpected, unprovoked and really distressing for those communities involved," she added. "It’s not something that anyone is prepared for and it’s something that no one wants to happen." Although the calls "do not appear to be a safety concern," the New Zealand Police stated in a statement that it was still taking the threats "very seriously." According to the force, officers "were making inquiries to discover the source of the fake calls." According to reports up to this point, no explosives have been discovered at any of the institutions the calls were directed towards. Police in New Zealand are looking into the potential that the threats are originating from outside, according to Assistant Commissioner Bruce O'Brien. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Bomb threats cause disruption in schools across New Zealand

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