Hacking Attempts in the Education Sector Are On the Rise. Here’s How Schools Can Stay Safe from Cyberattacks.
Educational institutions are facing a surge in cyberattacks targeting IoT (Internet of Things) devices like IP cameras, network video recorders, and routers, according to recent data published by Check Point Research. In fact, the cybersecurity solutions provider states that there has been a 34% increase in cyberattacks when compared to last year. How can schools and other organizations stay safe from hacking attempts in the education sector?
Experts believe that schools and universities need to focus on vulnerability management. Basically, this process involves the continuous identification and resolution of potential weaknesses or flaws, such as bugs and firewall misconfigurations. These give hackers a chance to steal data and cause harm. Even something as simple as regularly updating software and installing antivirus solutions can help prevent unauthorized access to confidential data like the addresses and medical records of students.
BlueSteel Cybersecurity CEO Ali Allage, who has two decades of experience in leading tech companies, tells us how schools can stay safe from cyberattacks and institute better strategies against hacking attempts in the education sector.
Ali’s Thoughts
“So, my thoughts on the topic of the education sector seeing an increase in attacks is not surprising just because of how much the education system had to transition [during] and after covid on technology use. There’s been a lot of quick adoption without necessarily having the right frameworks in order to support remote education or adopting some of the technologies needed for today’s educational world. So, part of that is not having a grasp on vulnerability management, and this is using these tiny devices, like I mentioned [IoT devices] like cameras, [some] of these hardware pieces that sometimes get overlooked on firmware. Making sure that the software that goes to run the hardware are up to date. And, so we’ll see a lot in terms of vulnerability management not necessarily getting the love or attention it needs, or you’ll see that they’re identifying some of the issues — It’s just that the breadth of items that need to be addressed are pretty large and it could be…
