As online learning becomes more commonplace, education systems and student data are more at risk due to educational institutions increasingly becoming considerable targets for cyber-attacks in recent years. Educational institutions at any level hold troves of valuable data including safeguarding, personal and financial data, and breaches can result in significant disruptions.
When a school or university is subject to a breach, there can be numerous consequences including on-going disruptions to learning, compromised exams, leaked research and intellectual property, compromised payment platforms; compromised on-premise security and library systems through connected devices; and most consequently, breached student personal, financial and safeguarding data. Educational institutions need to prioritize creating a robust digital security infrastructure to prevent significant disruption and financial losses.
- Why is the Education Sector a Growing Target of Cyber-attacks?
- Regulatory Frameworks for Cybersecurity in Education
- Digital Security Solutions for the Education Sector
- Best Practices for Implementing and Maintaining a Strong Digital Security Infrastructure
- Balancing Budgets with Digital Security Planning
Why is the Education Sector a Growing Target of Cyber-attacks?
Cybersecurity risks are growing in the education sector, but many institutions lack the resources to close existing vulnerability gaps within their infrastructures. Higher education institutions are considered a prime target for attackers, seeing an increase of 70%, whereas primary and secondary education institutions appear to be a lesser target for attackers. However, education institutions overall have seen a 105% increase in ransomware attacks.
There are a number of reasons why attacks in the education sector are on the rise, but the primary attraction seems to be simply that they are more vulnerable. Educational institutions have smaller budgets to allocate to security staff and infrastructure, meaning that their systems are often outdated and insufficient as well as not having the human resource to respond to vulnerabilities before they develop into a full-blown incident.
The growth of digitized learning exacerbates this issue as institutions implement Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and connected devices such as interactive whiteboards and tablets. An accessible, more digital approach to learning is not an issue by itself, but a dependency on vulnerable hybrid and legacy systems means that they do not have the infrastructure to protect these vulnerable access points from would-be attackers.
However, while budgetary constraints can be difficult to manage, overlooking cybersecurity in education can have calamitous effects. Part of the reason that they are so appealing for cyber-attackers is the sheer number of vectors of valuable data that they possess, from intellectual property to personal data of student and staff, not to mention financial data in higher education institutions in particular.
Types of Attacks Used to Target the Education Sector:
There are a number of avenues for malicious parties to exploit in the education sector, taking advantage of network vulnerabilities as well as human error:
- Phishing: The leading attack type affecting the education sector throughout 2024, uses malicious links and social engineering to target student data and education services. Microsoft have also warned about the growing use of QR codes disguised as flyers offering campus information or school events to target mobile devices.
- Ransomware and Malware: Used by attackers to hold systems hostage and withdraw system access through remote access and encryption until payment is made.
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): Uses software to send high intensity traffic to overwhelm institution servers in order to crash it, rendering it unusable until payment is made.
Regulatory Frameworks for Cybersecurity in Education
Whilst there is an increased risk of cyber-attacks, the education sector is not defenseless. There are various regulatory frameworks around the world which provide support to seeking a more robust digital security for the educational sector. We shall now take a look at some examples of those frameworks.
The United States government has regulatory frameworks that educational institutions must adhere to, in order to protect student and financial data. The Family Educational Rights Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of all students records from kindergarten until they leave high school and also applies to higher education institutions, which receive funding from the Department of Education.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GBLA) also requires institutions offering financial services, including colleges who record tuition payment information or offer financial aid services to protect consumer financial information. In the state of California, the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) provides consumers with control over how their data is shared and also applies to educational institutions.
In the UK and EU, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protects data by ensuring that only the necessary data is collected and that consent has been given, that it is sufficiently protected and has a limited retention period. This covers all organizations in any capacity, including educational institutions.
Learn about regulatory frameworks for Digital Signatures in your region
Digital Security Solutions for the Education Sector
- Automation and Certificate Lifecycle Management: IT teams in educational institutions often have limited resources and can become overwhelmed when managing certificates manually, pulling away their attention from other projects or securing vulnerabilities, particularly in the case of higher education institutions. Implementing Certificate Lifecycle Management and automated solutions, such as Certificate Automation Manager, allows IT teams to spread their resources and ensure that certificates are issued, renewed and revoked without delays or risk of human error.
- Email Security and S/MIME: While the biggest threat to security in education institutions presents in the form of phishing and social engineering, it is extremely important that institutions ensure that their email systems are protected. S/MIME certificates encrypt the contents of an email so that it can only be accessed by the intended parties while verifying the identity of the sender, and can ensure the authenticity and privacy of school and university communications.
- Document Signing: Research and academic documents in particular make universities an appealing target for malicious parties, however documents on financial or personal data and student records also make any educational institution vulnerable. Document Signing solutions help protect data held within these documents using encryption to create a unique digital ‘fingerprint’, which verifies the identity of the signer and the authenticity of the document.
- Mobile Authentication: With distance, remote and hybrid learning becoming more common, it can present further vulnerabilities for institutions that provide this type of access to their systems for students. Mobile Authentication supports the use of BYOD policies by allowing students and employees to log in to educational systems such as student accounts and online exams while limiting access to only verified users.
- Internet of Things (IoT): Learning has become more interactive over the last three decades, incorporating the use of devices such as smart boards, computers and tablets. Many educational systems also depend on the use of IoT including security systems, library cataloging devices, and financial and payment systems. Connected devices make learning more accessible and engaging, providing more tailored learning experiences, but can present another vulnerability for attackers to exploit. It is imperative that educational institutions protect these systems and devices with secure device enrollment to prevent learning disruptions and the extraction of personal and financial data.
Best Practices for Implementing and Maintaining a Strong Digital Security Infrastructure
The primary challenge faced by educational institutions when building a strong digital security posture come with balancing security risk management with budget constraints. This often prevents digital security from being seen as a priority. Here are some best practices for maintaining strong, long-term security hygiene in order to spread resources and reduce risks:
- Conduct Regular Risk Assessments: Institutions must ensure that they have a strong infrastructure for risk mitigation – this means conducting regular risk assessments to identify and address vulnerabilities. For larger institutions in particular, such as colleges and universities with multiple schools, systems have multiple points of vulnerability. Risks must be regularly analyzed to allocate the right resources and solutions with an adaptive approach to existing and emerging vulnerabilities.
- Education and Awareness: Human error is a primary risk factor with phishing, spoofing and social engineering attacks being primary risks in education. Institutions must ensure to implement comprehensive awareness programs for both students and staff in all departments, with regular updates to the material while reinforcing the best practices.
- Assess Third Party Vendors: Third party vendors providing outside services pose significant risks to both smaller schools and larger institutions as they often must share personal and financial student data. Third party suppliers can provide anything including student information software, online resources, connected classroom devices, and payment gateway platforms. Even with the most comprehensive security infrastructure, every institution must create and adhere to comprehensive vendor security policy to regularly assess new and existing vendors.
- Regular Updates: Many educational institutions are still relying on outdated systems, software and hardware. Legacy and hybrid technology and systems are often incompatible with modern cybersecurity making them vulnerable. Institutions should ensure that any devices or educational software is regularly updated to defend against evolving cyber-attack tactics.
- Create an Incident Response Plan: It is crucial that every institution has an incident response plan in the event of an apparent vulnerability or a fully realized breach. A vulnerability could emerge in a weak or outdated legacy system that could potentially be exploited, or there may be an incident wherein a staff member’s email has become compromised. Every institution, or any organization for that matter, should have a policy for responding to any scenario in order to limit any damage. This should include an overview of addressing common incidents, an assigned incident response manager and team, a communication plan to notify staff and anyone affected by the incident as well as a retrospective into the incident and update to the security plan and risk assessment.
Balancing Budgets with Digital Security Planning
Many educational institutions face budgetary challenges which prevent them prioritizing the management of their security infrastructure. However, the consequences an incident are far reaching and digital security must be a top priority for the education sector.
There are numerous ways for educational institutions to mitigate these challenges, however. All institutions can create a comprehensive security plan that allows them to manage long-term risks and ensure that they are prepared to prioritize security needs before they arise.
Prioritizing security this way allows institutions to redistribute resources more effectively. Working with a trusted PKI partner, with a comprehensive solution and automation offering, will allow IT departments to reduce time spent on manual certificate management and incident response and in-turn focus on maintaining and updating education systems and platforms, better serving students.
With the education sector at great risk, institutions must ensure the protection of student, personal, financial, research, and safeguarding data, focusing on prevention methods which prioritize security before risks emerge, using secure, trusted solutions and practices.
