The rising threat of cyber security attacks. CYBERSECURITY FOR HIGHER ED FACT SHEET Cybersecurity Considerations for Institutions of Higher Education Background The ability to securely connect to virtual systems is an important element within a safe and supportive learning environment. Distributed Denial of Service attacks targeting higher education institutions are on the rise and successful breaches can make headline news (as experienced by the University of Edinburgh in 2018).1 State-sponsored attacks targeting research In fact, the âeducation service sub-sector is rated third in the top targets of data breach incidents.âFrom the span of 2005-2016, there were 539 educational institution data breaches involving nearly 13 million known personal records.Those are frightening statistics. Cybersecurity threats in higher education can come from various sources. by Tanya Roscorla / May 18, 2016 Further education institutions have been investing more in cyber security training, products and services in the last few years. While education lags behind industries such as finance, healthcare and public administration in total breach volume, Verizonâs â2019 Data Breach Investigations Reportâ notes an uptick in both the volume of confirmed data disclosure attacks in education â 99 of 382 incidents â and in the variety of threats. A study of cyber security in higher education suggested that tens to hundreds of thousands of records are exfiltrated in each attack that takes place on an educational establishment. 0. They need to take urgent measures to install appropriate security software including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, endpoint security solutions and antivirus for all client machines as well as servers. The education sector is the least secure of 17 industries studied this year, according to a new report released Thursday.. From July to August, 2020, Microsoftâs Global Threat Activity Tracker detected more than 8 million malware incidents â with education being the most affected industry. Victimized institutions have indicated that the attackers exploit the vulnerability and then leverage scripts in the admissions or enrollment section of the affected system to create multiple student accounts.â Digital security threats seem to be increasing in complexity and severity. Firstly, students at Lancaster University fell victim to a phishing attack, with fraudulent invoices sent to a number of students who had applied to join the university. To improve cyber security efforts, higher education institutions should develop a cyber resilience strategy. Long gone are the days where a âboxedâ solution is going to protect a university from the cyber bad guys. Facebook. On August 2, the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Centerâs K-12 Cyber Incident Map reported its 533rd publicly disclosed cyber incident, which means the ⦠In fact, the education sector accounted for 13 percent of data breaches in the first half of 2017, resulting in the compromise of around 32 million records. By 2017, the number of cyber attacks vastly grew to 393 (in 2012 there were only 5). This is particularly the case with in institutions of higher education (IHEs), where Insider threats remain a constant and prevalent threat in the education sector due to the growing complexity of infrastructure and technology and the rapidly growing volume and value of data. âUK universities are among the most well-respected learning and research centres globally, yet our analysis highlights inconsistencies in the approach institutions are taking to protect their staff, students and intellectual property against the latest cyber threats,â said Mark Nicholls, CTO of Redscan. Indian Education Institutions Face Cyber Security Challenge. Cybersecurity in Higher Education: Problems and Solutions. Cyber Security Threats to Higher Education Institutions Cyber security is a topic which is at the top of many organizations priority lists. The cyber threats mentioned above clearly demonstrate the need for better security in education institutions. The Canadian Shared Security Operations Centre (CanSSOC) was developed to investigate the frequency and complexity of cyber security threats facing higher education institutions. The mean score for further education institutions was 5.9, while higher education scored 7.1. If their information falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be serious, from anti-competitive commercial practices, to threats to national security, as well as the usual risks of identity fraud and financial crime. Cybersecurity challenges abound in higher education. Establishing flawless data security is vital to avoid cybersecurity threats, meet compliance requirements, minimize the chance of data leaks, and preserve an institutionâs reputation and credibility, resulting in better student enrollment and easier staff recruitment. Cyber threats against educational institution data are on the rise. Yet security teams are still strained to find the most up-to-date solutions that will support and protect their institution. Higher education institutions face unique security challenges not seen in other sectors. In particular, education institutions struggled with application security, endpoint security and patching cadence, according to the â2018 Education Cybersecurity Report,â conducted by the information security company SecurityScorecard. With Growing Cyber Threats to Educational Institutions, ... UNIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HEALTH GENERAL HEALTH SECURITY OTHER TECHNOLOGY OTHER EDUCATION. Learn more about the cyber risks facing higher education and get practical advice from other academic IT leaders by joining the Higher Education Cyber Threat Report webinar , an event produced by the Center for Digital Education and FireEye. Learn the challenges IT directors face, and what concerns them the most regarding the implementation of security against data breaches, ransomware, and other attacks. This article explores the cybersecurity threats that the higher education space faces, as well as a range of solutions that can help colleges and universities combat future attacks. According to a study by a non-profit association of IT leaders in higher education, EDUCAUSE, information security is the biggest issue for education institutions for the third year in a row. More colleges are using third-party services to help with detecting and managing threats and thereâs been an increase in those achieving the Cyber Essentials certifications. How higher education deals with security threats A culture of openness, two-factor authentication and incident response plans are some ways colleges and universities are dealing with security threats. Pilot initiatives are currently underway to leverage the cyber security skills, resources and tools within Canadaâs collective higher education community. For a college and studentâs safety, along with compliance to potentially damaging regulations, higher education institutions must implement a complex approach that combines detection, diagnosis and mitigation of cyber security threats. According to the statistic provided by Verizonâs annual Data Breach Investigations Report, the frequency of security breaches affecting universities multiplied almost ten times. Twitter. institutions also makes them a prime target. Cyber attacks on higher education institutions are on the rise across the globe, with multiple, unconnected attacks hitting the headlines in the last couple of weeks. As more and more of our daily lives are moved online, it is essential to be as safe as possible when it comes to digital records, personal information, and more. Schools inside the K-12 spectrum have become a frequent target for cyber threats that seek to hold both data, and infrastructure, hostage. Core Security solutions for higher education cybersecurity offer a holistic view of your network and monitor access risk, vulnerabilities, and devicesâprotecting more assets and decreasing dependency on multiple vendors. November 13, 2019. Since 2005, there have been over 540 higher education security breaches â leading several institutions to pay thousands of dollars to hackers , while others have had financial information compromised and high-value personal information stolen. With the growing list of fintech solutions offered in banking and the most recent Cloud Hopper investigation released by WSJ , 2019 was an early indicator of cyberthreats still to come in the year ahead. With all the cyber threats that exist today, banks are more vulnerable than ever to becoming the next victim of a malicious cyberattack. Cybersecurity in Education: What Teachers, Parents and Students Should Know. More than a data breach â cyber espionage campaign on Higher Education It's important that higher education institutions take this to review and update their long-term strategies for cybersecurity on campus. Nick Walter from Acer recommends how the education sector can better protect itself from increasing cyber threats. Education institutions will likely continue to face cyber threats due to the valuable information stored on school networks and the ability for threat actors to use network infrastructure to launch operations against other targets. Top Cybersecurity Threats Active in the Education Sector Today â and Why You Should Care. IT departments must face these potential areas of risk and find ways to reduce the threats of attacks on the highly sensitive information stored in university networks. Higher education institutions have been slower than other sectors to recognize and address the threat of cyber attacks and data breaches. Campuses are struggling with effective cybersecurity. Protecting our higher education institutions from cyber crime is 8 Cybersecurity Challenges Facing Higher Education Chief information security officers have their hands full in the fast-paced cyberwar. Educational institutions have become regular targets for cybercriminals. Indian Education Institutions receive cyber threats from hackers. Informed by my experience of two significant data breaches at the University of Greenwich, where I am vice-chancellor, this blog describes the most significant cyber security risks and offers advice for senior leaders and board members about how to mitigate cyber threats and the potential impact.. WhatsApp. The growing risk of cyber threats is well reported. The rationale behind lower scores included: A lack of resources and budget â potentially pointing to the lack of finances to invest in cybersecurity, be it software or staff.