Recently the National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS) warned of increasing number of ransomware attacks in the education sector. This may be in part to the shift to online learning – many schools and colleges quickly had to provide email mailboxes to access the online curriculum.
Ransomware is malicious code typically spread through email, which encrypts data allowing criminals to demand money for its release. It’s a profitable business – netting billions for hackers worldwide. Not only is the data encrypted, hackers may also threaten to sell data online, raising huge safeguarding and privacy concerns in the education sector.
In recent incidents ransomware has led to the loss of student coursework, school financial records, as well as data relating to COVID-19 testing. And of course, a potential financial loss for any provider who pays for the release of their data.
Many schools and colleges gave staff and students Microsoft 365 access, and with good reason. Its a great solution for educators – Outlook for email, Word, Excel, PowerPoint for homework and college essays, SharePoint for cloud storage and Teams for online learning.
Whilst this enabled the shift to remote learning, it may also have widened the cyber threat surface, making them a prime target for cyber criminals to send phishing emails ready to deploy ransomware threats.
The increasing threat of ransomware attacks in the education sector calls for urgent action to be taken by UK schools, colleges, and universities to protect themselves from cyber criminals. Here are some recommended measures to safeguard against ransomware attacks:
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Implement Email Filtering: One of the most common ways for ransomware to infiltrate a system is through email phishing. Implementing email filters can prevent such malicious emails from reaching staff and students' inboxes, reducing the risk of a ransomware attack.
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Backup and Recovery Strategy: Having a backup and recovery plan in place is crucial in the event of a ransomware attack. Ensuring that all data is regularly backed up and can be restored quickly, without having to pay a ransom to cybercriminals.
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Web Filtering: Restricting internet access to approved sites only, and implementing web filtering software can reduce the risk of accidental exposure to malicious websites that can be used to spread ransomware.
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Educate Staff and Students: Providing regular training and education to staff and students about the dangers of clicking on links, opening documents, or downloading from the internet can help to prevent accidental exposure to malicious content.
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Assess Threat Risk: Engage with a cyber-security specialist, such as Advatek, to assess your school, college, or university's current threat risk, implement strategies to prevent attacks, detect attacks as they happen, and put a disaster recovery and backup plan in place to recover quickly.
By implementing these measures, UK schools, colleges, and universities can help protect themselves from the increasing threat of ransomware attacks, ensuring that data, financial records, and other sensitive information remain secure.
