Universities and colleges are city-like microcosms, making them prime targets for cyberattacks. Classrooms, student housing, sports facilities, commercial activities, public health and clinics, in some cases, are all connected to the same network, creating a large and complex environment for attacks.
Multiple touchpoints in educational institutions lead to the collection and storage of large amounts of sensitive information that is often stored in disparate systems, creating many channels of attack. Attackers know that some universities collect more personal information (such as social security numbers) than necessary, increasing the value of selling this data on the black market.
Attacks on these institutions also affect a wider range of stakeholders than many other organizations. Students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, sports fans, and patients are all potential victims with unique information that can be stolen.
Recognize key threats in higher education
While educational organizations are exposed to a variety of cyberattacks, there are several types of incidents that occur frequently, such as ransomware, insider threats, phishing scams and targeted attacks.
Ransomware attacks
For universities that do not have insurance against cyber incidents or do not have the funds to pay the ransom, a ransomware attack can lead to medium to long-term interruptions that affect essential institutional services, such as education, research, and critical university operations. Failure to pay the ransom could mean permanent data loss or the sale of sensitive information to other attackers.
Internal risks
At universities, a variety of people have legal access to school systems, often using their personal devices without direct IT oversight, creating unintended security gaps that attackers can exploit. As a result, unintentional students, faculty or staff may allow a major cyber incident to occur.
Phishing and targeted attacks
In phishing campaigns, attackers send fraudulent emails or texts to trick victims into revealing confidential data or installing malware on their devices. Targeted attacks target specific users, especially those with elevated privileges, making it difficult to distinguish between fraudulent and genuine messages.
Challenges in the face of threats to higher education
Many organizations face challenges in allocating appropriate budgets for cybersecurity, affecting the allocation of necessary resources and personnel. Many small and medium-sized universities lack the resources to effectively protect themselves against threats.
In addition, university IT and security teams must deal with a complex organizational structure, as academic institutions are typically divided into independent departments, making it difficult to monitor each organizational unit, allowing attackers to penetrate systems undetected.
Best Practices for Security Leaders in Higher Education
To mitigate these challenges, security leaders at educational institutions must analyze the entire attack environment to develop a robust security strategy and effective internal policies. IT leaders should start with a maturity assessment, identify security gaps, and then develop a plan to address them. Appropriate communication should take place across the organization, especially with the university administration.
IT teams should take a risk-based approach, prioritizing threats and taking steps accordingly. It's important that security professionals invest in security education across departments to ensure that everyone understands their role in preventing cyberattacks.
Final recommendations
Cyberattacks are accelerating, and are expected to become more sophisticated. Security leaders in higher education must improve their visibility across their organization's entire network and systems, while enhancing security awareness among all users to ensure better protection against threats. This is a difficult task, but by focusing on the actions that have the greatest impact in reducing security risks, they can improve the security posture of their educational institutions.
By Michael Sink, principal technology consultant for higher education at World Wide Technology.
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