Cybercrime on the Rise for K-12 Schools

Cybercrime on the Rise for K-12 Schools
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September 16, 2021

Resource: Blog Industry: Education, K12
Tags: IT and Cybersecurity, K12 Education, Staff Training

Cyber Attacks: What You Need to Know

It’s no secret that cybercrime in education has been on the rise throughout the last year. Many schools were forced to hastily create a virtual learning environment to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, which left them vulnerable to ransomware and cyber attacks. 

In July, The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) reported a 19% increase in cyberattacks targeted at K-12 schools between 2019 and 2020. Educational institutions are attractive targets for hackers, especially as schools are beginning a new academic year and administrative attention is elsewhere. Experts predict we will continue to see a rise in cybercrime targeted at schools. 

Attackers are getting more creative as time goes on - there are reports of hackers going as far as pretending to be parents in order to trick teachers into engaging with malware. While it’s true that the sudden transition to remote learning and an influx of devices tied to school networks have established schools as easy targets for hackers, the lack of proper training on cybersecurity basics is also a large contributing factor to the situation. 

Lack of Cybersecurity Training Increases Risks for K-12 Schools

Back in October 2020, IBM released a summary of their Education Ransomware Study. The key findings included that a staggering 54% of educators had never received basic cybersecurity training. Cybersecurity and ransomware training is an easy, low-cost way to make sure educators and school staff can identify and shut down potential threats before they turn into a full-blown attack. 

Helping Minimize the Risk of Cybercrime with Cybersecurity Training for K-12 Schools

Vector Solutions offers a suite of IT-related training for K-12 Staff. These courses include a range of topics to help educate your staff on cybersecurity and ransomware:

  • Browser Security Basics: Provides all staff members with an overview of browser security and ways to browse the web safely. Topics include: the types of browser threats, the basics of browser security, and safe browsing practices.
  • Cybersecurity Overview 
  • Email and Messaging Safety
  • Password Security Basics
  • Protection Against Malware

For students, we offer Digital Citizenship courses for grades 6-8 and grades 9-12.

 

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