Cyber Security in the Education Sector

Due to the rapid growth in the use of remote learning and virtual classrooms, the educational sector was hit by the "record-breaking" number of cyber-attacks in 2020.

According to Microsoft, Education is the area most at risk to malware-related threats and viruses, accounting for over 6.8 million (over 63 percent) of all reported encounters within the last 30 days up to the time of this writing.

There's no one specific sector that is suffering. In August of 2020, the number of cyberattacks against U.S.-based education institutions alone increased by 30% from month to month as compared to 6.5 percent across all industries. The number of ransomware attacks on universities around the world increased from 2019 to 2020 by more than a quarter.

With budget cuts that are affecting institutions across Canada as well as those in the U.S., the need for security awareness training to improve data security across a variety of devices, networks, and other tools for collaboration is never greater.

The most important lessons from past education Industry Data Leaks

1. Schools are a major attack on cybercriminals.

The number of attacks suggests that schools should increase the security measures to protect their data from cyber-attacks. The purchase of affordable antivirus and anti-malware products is essential for keeping the systems secure.

2. Staff requires more security training.

To prevent ignorance of IT security threats, teachers, as well as other staff members at schools, must be regularly updated about the latest security threats to be able to effectively respond to ransomware, data breaches, and phishing attacks.

3. Beware of scams using phishing.

Cybercriminals target universities by launching scams intended to manipulate teachers into giving away their personal information and identity as well as tax details. Knowing the indications of phishing attacks are essential to spot them before they occur.

Information on Cybersecurity for Teachers and Students

To improve information security in an educational setting, students, teachers, and staff require access to a mix of information as well as IT security strategies. Here are some essential ways to keep your system secure when returning to school:

1. Make sure that your software is up-to-date

Updates to software regularly eliminate vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit to attack with ransomware. Making sure that your software and devices are patched will stop any person from being able to gain access to your system without consent.

2. Install anti-malware software and antivirus software.

Anti-malware and antivirus programs can help you block malware and other harmful software from infecting school computers. Find solutions that offer automatic updates, antivirus scanning as well as anti-phishing capabilities to enhance your protection.

3. Choose strong passwords

Selecting the right secure password will make it more difficult for hackers to hack into institutions' accounts and portals. Making passwords that are not based on dictionary words that contain a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, symbols and numbers will decrease the chances of successful hacking attempts. Enabling multi-factor authentication to allow remotely accessing your networks is crucial.

4. Participate in security awareness training

Cyberattacks are always changing, and organizing security education training as well as Phish awareness training for employees and faculty can help them acquire the abilities needed to spot attacks involving social engineering and phishing. If you're an institution that conducts research, then you might want to offer training for your students.

5. Nominate internal cyber security ambassadors for internal cyber security

Choose a few volunteers who are interested in cybersecurity security as ambassadors. Then, implement the training and mentoring program to build their awareness of threats as well as best methods. When the first participants have achieved certification, track their progress and look for areas they could enhance their skills.

6. Do not click on emails or open attachments

Clicking on links in emails or opening attachments from people you don't know poses an unintentional security risk since opening an email link with malicious intent or attachment may cause the installation of malware. Faculty and faculty are regularly reminded of the need to verify that the sender is legitimate prior to click on any link.

Recap

Educational institutions offer the possibility of new learning for all who are enrolled or on staff. However, many of these schools are susceptible to cyberattacks. The global pandemic has given hackers plenty of time to create new malware and scams. Education is the primary factor in tackling the rapidly-changing threat environment.

For your data to be secure, security awareness training needs to be at the center of your security strategy. A proactive security awareness training will provide the participants with an overview of the techniques used by cybercriminals today and will help them learn best practices for protecting their data and systems.

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