The State of Cybersecurity in the K-12 Education Sector

Cyberattacks are increasing globally at an alarming rate. Many industries are hurrying to evaluate vulnerabilities and mitigate risks, however some industries, like the education sector are often finding themselves dangerously behind the curve.

K-12 School districts are responsible for vast amounts of personal student and staff personal data and with the increased reliance on technology in the classroom, their networks are becoming more and more vulnerable to attack. Bad actors are taking every opportunity to exploit these vulnerabilities and without adequate cybersecurity protocols and measures in place, school districts are falling victim to these attacks more frequently than ever before. In fact, the education sector is now the #1 most attacked industry, according to CSO online.

Ransomware, Data Breaches, Data Exfiltration, and Phishing Attacks are among the top publicly disclosed cybersecurity events plaguing school districts across the US. “According to the K-12 Security Information Exchange (K12 SIX), security threats like these have risen steadily since 2016. Averaged over the last six years, this equates to more than one incident per school day. K12 SIX claims that anecdotal evidence suggests there could be 10 to 20 times more events that go undisclosed every year.” [Read more: SecurityBoulevard.com]

The bottom line is that the Education sector is now the most heavily targeted industry on the planet, with nearly 7 million more malware encounters in the last 30 days than any other tracked industry. While school districts are responsible for significant amounts of personal data, there are several challenges that most districts face that have created the perfect cybersecurity storm. These challenges include

• The lack of IT & Security staffing to adequately address the increases in number and sophistication of today’s cyber threats
• A lack of cybersecurity budget to meet the growing need for tools and training
• A general absence of standardized cybersecurity policies.

While the challenges that US K-12 school districts are facing are becoming clearer, most districts have yet to find a solution. Recommendations to improve your districts cybersecurity posture include:

• Choosing a framework solution & start implementing it
• Vet your third-party cloud service providers and evaluate their security policies
• Provide cybersecurity education to faculty, staff and students. Knowledge is power.
• Automate your monitoring & workflows with cybersecurity technologies, like Securus360 MXDR, that can anticipate, detect and resolve cyber threats before they can impact your business.

Cyberattacks to the education sector are expected to continue escalating in both frequency and severity. School districts must take proactive steps now to manage their risks and avoid a the serious consequences associated with these devasting attacks.

Unsure of your school district’s current vulnerabilities? Contact Securus360 to schedule your Vulnerability Assessment scan and take the first step towards advanced cybersecurity protection.