Cybercriminals focus on online learning platforms: Compromises have increased by 2020 percent since July 60. Kaspersky introduces a new toolkit for the education sector.
As the pandemic continues and schools remain or are closed again, the education sector is attracting increased attention from cyber criminals. To help educators ensure digital security in their job, Kaspersky has released a digital toolkit that teaches educators best practices on cybersecurity. In the second half of 2020 (July to December) alone, 270.171 users were confronted with various threats disguised as popular learning platforms. This corresponds to an increase of 60 percent compared to the first half of 2020.
Teachers vulnerable to cyber risks
The switch to distance learning to curb the Corona infection rate made many students and teachers vulnerable to cyber risks. Cyber criminals often disguise their malware under the names of popular online platforms for digital learning.
From January to June 2020, the total number of users who encountered various threats under the guise of popular online learning platforms or video conferencing applications was 168.550 - an increase of about 20 percent over the same period last year. This value increased even further from July to December. In January 2021, the number of users confronted with various threats in the context of popular online learning platforms reached 270.171 - again an increase of 60 percent compared to the first half of 2020.
Zoom most popular target among cyber criminals
By far the most popular bait was Zoom, as it is the most popular virtual meeting platform with more than 300 million [2] daily meeting participants. Moodle, which is used, for example, as Mebis in Bavaria or DAKORA in Baden-Württemberg, ranks second, followed by Google Meet. Apart from Google Classroom, the number of identified threats increased consistently on the most popular platforms - disguised as online learning / video conferencing services.
About 98 percent of the identified threats were non-viruses and are divided into riskware and adware. Adware bombardes users with unwanted advertisements, while Riskware consists of various files - from browser bars and download managers to remote administration tools - that are capable of performing various actions on their computer without the user's consent. One percent of the identified threats were Trojans.
Digital toolkit for the education sector
To help teachers and their students stay safe while using digital tools in class, Kaspersky has put together a range of materials, including an online course that teaches cybersecurity best practices.
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About Kaspersky Kaspersky is an international cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky's in-depth threat intelligence and security expertise serve as the basis for innovative security solutions and services to protect companies, critical infrastructures, governments and private users worldwide. The company's comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection as well as a range of specialized security solutions and services to defend against complex and evolving cyber threats. Kaspersky technologies protect over 400 million users and 250.000 corporate customers. More information about Kaspersky can be found at www.kaspersky.com/