Cyberattacks on schools are on the rise, proving schools need a resilient cybersecurity strategy.
When it comes to cybercriminals, there are ZERO boundaries. These are the types of criminals that steal from the elderly, purposely shut down hospitals, critical infrastructure, and yes, even schools.
As schools increasingly rely on technology for their day-to-day operations, cyber-attacks are increasing. Schools, colleges, and universities handle vast amounts of sensitive personal data for students, parents, and employees. While they may not always make headlines for data breaches, they are constantly targeted by modern cybercriminals.
According to the Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (EDITORS NOTE: You will need to enter your contact information to access the report), the educational services sector experienced 1,780 incidents in 2023, with 1,537 resulting in confirmed data exposure. This represents a 258% increase in incidents and an alarming 545% rise in data breaches year-over-year. Many of these incidents are linked to the MOVEit transfer vulnerability, which affected 900 U.S. schools through a National Student Clearinghouse breach.
Despite the growing number of incidents, little else has changed in this sector. Of these attacks, 68% stemmed from external sources, with ransomware continuing to be a dominant threat. Internally, 56% of risks involved insider errors such as loss, misclassification, and misdelivery.
Financial motives drive 98% of these attacks, underscoring the need for schools, colleges, and universities to implement proactive measures to prevent extortion attempts. Effective protection requires around-the-clock cybersecurity monitoring that can detect and respond to threats even outside school hours. However, due to limited resources and staff, many institutions struggle to manage these defenses in-house.
Why Cyber Attacks Target Schools
Educational institutions don’t just educate; they safeguard enormous amounts of personal data, including personally identifiable information (PII) of students, parents, faculty, and staff. This makes them prime targets for threat actors.
Schools hold valuable data like student medical records, which, if encrypted or stolen, can cause emotional distress to victims. Attackers also exploit the fact that many schools are under-resourced in terms of security expertise and funding. Overworked staff and faculty are more likely to fall victim to social engineering attacks.
The transition to hybrid learning during the COVID-19 pandemic expanded attack surfaces for these institutions. Unfortunately, IT and security teams often struggled to keep pace with the growing vulnerabilities, leaving new entry points poorly secured or entirely unprotected.
Common Cyber Attacks in Education
Research from the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MSISAC) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) identifies five common types of cyberattacks in education:
- Data Breach
Data breaches involve the theft and exposure of PII, which can lead to other types of attacks. Even when not financially motivated, the exfiltration of personal information can be damaging for both individuals and institutions. - Ransomware
Ransomware can cripple a school’s operations, locking users out of systems and halting learning until recovery efforts are complete. These attacks often result in canceled classes, high remediation costs, and reputational damage. Modern ransomware attacks also frequently include data theft, posing a risk of PII exposure even if a ransom is paid. - Business Email Compromise (BEC)
In a BEC attack, a hacker takes over an email account within the school and uses it for financial gain. Typically, the attacker sends fraudulent emails to request fund transfers from the institution or its vendors. - Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
A DDoS attack floods a school’s network, server, or website with traffic, rendering systems unavailable to legitimate users. Such attacks disrupt learning by making key resources inaccessible, effectively causing cyber “snow days” until the issue is resolved. - Invasion of Online Classes and Meetings
Hackers often target remote learning environments by invading online classes or virtual school meetings. These disruptions can range from offensive content to hate speech, creating chaos in educational settings that rely on virtual tools.
By understanding these risks and taking proactive measures, educational institutions can better protect their data, staff, and students from the rising tide of cyber threats.
