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. 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. 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. 0. It's important that higher education institutions take this to review and update their long-term strategies for cybersecurity on campus. Further education institutions have been investing more in cyber security training, products and services in the last few years. Pilot initiatives are currently underway to leverage the cyber security skills, resources and tools within Canada’s collective higher education community. Twitter. The mean score for further education institutions was 5.9, while higher education scored 7.1. The rising threat of cyber security attacks. Cyber Security Threats to Higher Education Institutions Cyber security is a topic which is at the top of many organizations priority lists. Yet security teams are still strained to find the most up-to-date solutions that will support and protect their institution. With all the cyber threats that exist today, banks are more vulnerable than ever to becoming the next victim of a malicious cyberattack. To improve cyber security efforts, higher education institutions should develop a cyber resilience strategy. 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. institutions also makes them a prime target. Campuses are struggling with effective cybersecurity. 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. 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. The Canadian Shared Security Operations Centre (CanSSOC) was developed to investigate the frequency and complexity of cyber security threats facing higher education institutions. Educational institutions have become regular targets for cybercriminals. November 13, 2019. From July to August, 2020, Microsoft’s Global Threat Activity Tracker detected more than 8 million malware incidents — with education being the most affected industry. Indian Education Institutions receive cyber threats from hackers. 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. Cybersecurity challenges abound in higher education. For a college and student’s 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. Long gone are the days where a “boxed” solution is going to protect a university from the cyber bad guys. In particular, education institutions struggled with application security, endpoint security and patching cadence, according to the “2018 Education Cybersecurity Report,” conducted by the information security company SecurityScorecard. Top Cybersecurity Threats Active in the Education Sector Today – and Why You Should Care. 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 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. This is particularly the case with in institutions of higher education (IHEs), where According to the statistic provided by Verizon’s annual Data Breach Investigations Report, the frequency of security breaches affecting universities multiplied almost ten times. 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.” Digital security threats seem to be increasing in complexity and severity. Cybersecurity in Higher Education: Problems and Solutions. The cyber threats mentioned above clearly demonstrate the need for better security in education institutions. With Growing Cyber Threats to Educational Institutions, ... UNIVERSITY DATA MANAGEMENT EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES HEALTH GENERAL HEALTH SECURITY OTHER TECHNOLOGY OTHER EDUCATION. The growing risk of cyber threats is well reported. The rationale behind lower scores included: A lack of resources and budget – potentially pointing to the lack of finances to invest in cybersecurity, be it software or staff. While education lags behind industries such as finance, healthcare and public administration in total breach volume, Verizon’s “2019 Data Breach Investigations Report” notes an uptick in both the volume of confirmed data disclosure attacks in education — 99 of 382 incidents — and in the variety of threats. On August 2, the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center’s K-12 Cyber Incident Map reported its 533rd publicly disclosed cyber incident, which means the … by Tanya Roscorla / May 18, 2016 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. In fact, the “education service sub-sector is rated third in the top targets of data breach incidents.”From the span of 2005-2016, there were 539 educational institution data breaches involving nearly 13 million known personal records.Those are frightening statistics. WhatsApp. Since 2005, there have been over 540 higher education security breaches – leading several institutions to pay thousands of dollars to hackers , while others have had financial information compromised and high-value personal information stolen. The education sector is the least secure of 17 industries studied this year, according to a new report released Thursday.. By 2017, the number of cyber attacks vastly grew to 393 (in 2012 there were only 5). Cybersecurity threats in higher education can come from various sources. Facebook. Protecting our higher education institutions from cyber crime is 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. Cyber threats against educational institution data are on the rise. “UK 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,” said Mark Nicholls, CTO of Redscan. 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. 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. 8 Cybersecurity Challenges Facing Higher Education Chief information security officers have their hands full in the fast-paced cyberwar. 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. 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. Nick Walter from Acer recommends how the education sector can better protect itself from increasing cyber threats. Higher education institutions face unique security challenges not seen in other sectors. Learn the challenges IT directors face, and what concerns them the most regarding the implementation of security against data breaches, ransomware, and other attacks. More colleges are using third-party services to help with detecting and managing threats and there’s been an increase in those achieving the Cyber Essentials certifications. 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. Establishing flawless data security is vital to avoid cybersecurity threats, meet compliance requirements, minimize the chance of data leaks, and preserve an institution’s reputation and credibility, resulting in better student enrollment and easier staff recruitment. Indian Education Institutions Face Cyber Security Challenge. Schools inside the K-12 spectrum have become a frequent target for cyber threats that seek to hold both data, and infrastructure, hostage. Cybersecurity in Education: What Teachers, Parents and Students Should Know. 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.. More than a data breach – cyber espionage campaign on Higher Education 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. Core Security solutions for higher education cybersecurity offer a holistic view of your network and monitor access risk, vulnerabilities, and devices—protecting more assets and decreasing dependency on multiple vendors. Higher education institutions have been slower than other sectors to recognize and address the threat of cyber attacks and data breaches.