Hackers are looking for soft targets in educational institutions, particularly public K-12 schools and universities. Threat actors, internal and external, are trying to infringe on students' rights. Hacks can cause havoc on students, staff, faculty members, parents, administrators, and other students.\
Education leaders need to be proactive and prioritize making changes to protect the private identifiable information (PII) of their students and staff and cybersecurity must be a top priority for education institutions. Cyberattacks in education are not less common or more severe despite the sector being faced with major challenges like a shortage of staffing and a dearth of resources and funding. These atacks seem to be increasing in frequency year-on-year as more breaches of schools and higher education institutions are reported.
According to Nick Rossmann (global threat intelligence lead for the IBM Security X-Force), attacks on schools and universities increased 35 percent between 2019 and 2020. He said that they might not have the same cybersecurity awareness as other industries. Hackers have also discovered more opportunities through online learning.
The motives behind attacks can differ because Education venues are different in size, purpose and stature. For example, what might be a common threat for world-renowned Universities/Colleges might not be an issue for schools or school districts. Institutions need to assess the risk and determine what data are vulnerable to unauthorized access. One example was the recent attack on Deakin University in Australia. The hacker gained access to a staff member’s usernames, passwords and information stored by a third party provider.
The Education sector must focus on the prevention of cyberattacks, not reacting to them after they have occurred. However, mitigation of attacks seems to take place over prevention simply due to lack of funding and resources.
While looking at the current state of cybersecurity in Education here are a few points ive identified to be of the most concen.
Data theft
All levels of education are affected by this type of attack because institutions store sensitive information, including names and addresses. Cybercriminals can find this information valuable for many reasons. They may use it to trade the information with a third party, or as bargaining tools to extort money.
DDoS attacks
Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks, also known as DDoS attacks, are common types of attack against all Education venues. This attack is designed to disrupt the network of the institute, resulting in a decrease in productivity.
It can be quite easy for amateur cybercriminals to launch this attack, especially if the target networks are not well protected. Students and teachers have successfully carried out DDoS attacks , sometimes with a variety of motives, from wanting to take a day off , to protesting the handling of a complaint .
Phishing
This attack is a top threat to higher education institutions, and hackers are known for targeting this sector regularly using the technique.
Phishing scams are often disguised as an email or an instant message. They attempt to trick the user into believing the source is trying to gain their credentials, whether it's confidential research data or sensitive student data.
Ransomware/Malware
Ransomware and malware infect devices by using trojans, which are files or attachments disguised as legitimate. Some ransomware, such as the WannaCry attack, can travel between devices and not require user interaction.
Ransomware and malware attacks are also among the top cyber threats that the report highlights. They prevent users from accessing files or networks and cause disruption. Ransomware and malware attacks can also be more advanced, allowing attackers to hold files in exchange for ransom.
Espionage
Ive listed sspionage is the 5th reason education is a target of cybercrime. In the case of higher education institutes like Universities/Colleges, they're often centers for research and hold valuable intellectual property.
Universities/Colleges need to be suitably protected, as it's thought that scientific, engineering and medical research by Universities have been previously compromised by hackers, and with plenty of time and money to fund them, professionals are often at the helm of these attacks.
IBM recently opening grand applications for public schools to better prepare for growing ransomeware threats was great to see. The grants will be used to sponsor IBM Service Corps teams that help schools prepare and respond to cyber attacks including ransomware playbooks and incident response plans.
The Education sector will continue to be responsible for protecting its networks from cyber threats and unauthorized access, despite challenges. This is especially important when the consequences can be severe and devastating.