TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES Controlling Spiraling Cyberattacks
Understanding today’s cyber landscape is essential for all school leaders. By Joseph Saracino
C
ybercriminals have increasingly made schools a primary target. The K–12 Security Informa- tion Exchange, a Virginia-based nonprofit providing cybersecurity services to schools, reported having tracked over 1,200 cyberattacks on U.S. public school districts since 2016, including 209 ransomware attacks, 53 denial-of-service attacks, 156 Zoom-bombing attacks, and 110 phishing attacks. Pri- mary and secondary schools, public and private schools, and colleges and universities have all been victims of cyberattacks.
In its report titled The State of K–12 Cybersecurity:
2020 Year in Review, the K–12 Cybersecurity Resource Center refers to 2020 as a record-breaking year for cyberattacks on schools. It reports that 408 publicly disclosed cyberattacks against K–12 schools or districts occurred in 2020, an increase of 18% over the prior year. As it compiles data for 2021, the organization antici- pates a higher number of incidences; data from other
asbointl.org
Latest Developments in School Cyberattacks
Schools are under siege by cybercriminals looking to access valuable, sensitive data, such as the addresses, phone numbers, and financial information of students or their parents, as well as that of educators. A high
SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS | MAY 2022 21
sources support this expectation. In July 2021, Check Point Software noted a 29% increase in cybercrimi- nals’ targeting schools worldwide over the previous six months.
As the data suggest, it is no longer a matter of if, but when your school may become the next target of ran- somware, phishing, denial of service, or other cyberat- tacks. Understanding today’s cyber landscape related to the education market is essential for all school lead- ers. Knowing what best practices should be deployed is critical.
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