It is evident that the education sector is vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the amount of personal data available across user devices and corporate networks.
For example, just last fall, in the US, the FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC issued a warning against the Vice Society, a group known for disproportionately targeting the education sector with ransomware attacks. Attacks on universities and similar institutions in particular have increased significantly in Europe in recent months.
Tight budgets and resources
“While cybersecurity is undoubtedly a major concern in education, budget and resource constraints often delay the agenda until a major incident occurs. Due to the current threat situation, the question of how best to prevent and mitigate such attacks is more urgent than ever. Even more so given that 40 percent of devices in education store sensitive data. Educational institutions must therefore be adequately prepared to proactively prevent and respond to potential cyber attacks before they become serious.
Understand complex IT environments
Although classes are returning to classrooms, the impact of the rapid acceleration in distance learning sparked by the pandemic is still being felt today. Due to limited resources, visibility and budgets, IT and security teams are forced to address issues remotely. This can make it difficult to locate, track, manage, and most importantly, reclaim missing devices.
The emerging concern of the inability to track student device usage and audit online activity remains an ongoing challenge. Combined with inadequate security controls such as encryption, outdated anti-malware and vulnerable operating system versions, this has led to a plethora of vulnerabilities and increased risks for cyberattacks.
Visibility of endpoints
A study by Absolute Software shows that educational institutions have devices that log in from almost three locations per day (2,89). This may not come as a surprise given the digital nature of most schools these days. In connection with the analysis of sensitive data, however, it becomes clear that company end devices are exposed to an increased risk of compromise.” (Torsten George, VP at IT security provider Absolute Software)
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About Absolute Software Absolute Software accelerates its customers' transition to remote working with the industry's first self-healing Zero Trust platform that ensures maximum security and uncompromised productivity. Absolute is the only solution embedded in more than half a billion devices providing an always-on digital connection.