The switch to remote learning has made schools even bigger cyber targets
In the US, hacking attempts have increased by 30 percent.
The rise of home schooling has seen a spike in hacking attempts against educational institutions, said third-party security researchers Check Point. Its latest paper claims that the USA has seen the biggest increase, with academic sector attacks rising 30 percent from 468 per week to 608 per week. Europe and Asia have both seen a 24 percent and 21 percent increase, respectively, in the number of hacking attacks.
Check Point says that the tactic of choice is DDoS attacks for both the US and Europe, while Asia has a preference for Remote Code Execution and Information Disclosure. It’s likely that the combination of schools not having a particular focus on security, and a lack of resources, will exacerbate these issues. As usual, the researchers say that institutions should use a combination of proactive measures to reduce the vectors of attack and educate users on best practices.
