Education Sector – An Easy Target For Cybercriminals
With an overnight industry shift due to Covid-19, the education sector had to unlearn and reevaluate everything it knew while keeping pace with the usual logistics of academia. Simultaneously, it became an area of interest for cybercriminals because it failed to upgrade everything in such a short time.
Therefore, liberating cybercriminals to use advanced tools and tactics to take advantage of the situation. There are many other reasons why the education sector is a comparatively easy target for cybercriminals, including:
- Nearly 80% of the educators are using traditional learning platforms for online teaching
- 60% of professionals in the education sector admit to using personal devices for work
- Almost 60% of educators acknowledge that they do not know how to respond to a cyberattack
Let’s review the statement “humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity” and its consequences. It substantially defines the importance of cybersecurity in education. It worsens when you realize the academic staff does not effectively respond to a cyberattack.
Consequently, due to traditional unprotected means of data storage and lack of cybersecurity awareness and training, the education sector continually expands the risk of professional and personal data leaks.
The following are the significant reasons why cybercriminals target the education section:
- Reputational damage to students, staff, and their families
- The education sector has data worth up to $246 per stolen record on the black market
- Cybercriminals always treasure the data held by educational institutes
- To adversely impact the operations and productivity of an institution
- To get their hands on the valuable research work carried out by academic institutions