"Cybercriminals Use Pandemic to Attack Schools and Colleges"

Schools and colleges have been hit significantly hard by cyberattacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the average ransomware attack cost educational institutions $2.73 million, including costs of downtime, repairs, and lost opportunities. From August 14 to September 12, 2021, educational organizations were targeted in more than 5.8 million malware attacks, or 63 percent of all malware attacks. Globally, 44 percent of educational institutions were targeted by ransomware attacks. Nir Kshetri, a professor of management at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro who studies cybercrime and cybersecurity, looked at how the shift to remote learning during the pandemic has introduced new cybersecurity challenges. He pointed out six ways in which the pandemic has created more opportunities for cybercriminals to attack schools and colleges, which involves unsafe devices, distracted cybersecurity staff, the increased willingness of victims to comply with criminals' demands, vulnerable platforms, social engineering attacks, and the creation of new targets by COVID-19 resources. During the pandemic, devices loaned to students often lack security updates, posing a serious issue since 1,268 vulnerabilities were discovered in Microsoft products in 2020 alone. Such vulnerabilities can allow hackers to gain higher-level privileges on a system or network, leading to data theft and malware installation. Persons responsible for cybersecurity at schools and universities have been distracted from more important security issues due to the shift to remote learning. For example, cybersecurity professionals have become increasingly assigned to investigate bad online behavior. The political and social pressure on schools to ensure students have access to learning opportunities during the pandemic has increased educational institutes' willingness to pay ransomware attackers to quickly restore networks. The increased use of online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to conduct classes has also created new entry points for cybercriminals. This article continues to discuss how the pandemic has provided more opportunities for cybercriminals to attack schools and colleges.

NextGov reports "Cybercriminals Use Pandemic to Attack Schools and Colleges"