How higher ed can stay ahead of growing cyber threats

Key points:

• Higher ed is a prime target for cyberattacks
• Cybersecurity vigilance remains critical as threats evolve
• In ransomware attacks, expect to lose 43 percent of affected data
• For more news on avoiding cyberattacks, visit eCN’s Cybersecurity hub

According to a recent report from Check Point Research, the education and research sector experienced the highest number of attacks yet in 2023. With an average of 2,507 ransomware attacks being recorded weekly, higher education institutions have been forced to heighten their focus on cyber efforts and prioritize cybersecurity in the 2024 year.

Universities and college campuses across the nation are a tantalizing target for data-hungry hackers looking to exploit private information on the dark web. It is no secret that the higher-ed sector is home to a wealth of private data belonging to global corporations, donors, and even government agencies, in addition to the sensitive personal and financial data of staff and faculty. 

With the rate of attacks and data breaches increasing at a rapid pace, universities are much more likely to face slower and more expensive recovery times, reputation issues, and repeated learning disruptions. Their heavy reliance on IT infrastructure to facilitate online learning, research collaboration, and administrative tasks creates challenges when a breach occurs and freezes necessary access to technology. What’s more, forced recovery downtime can delay major exams, expensive projects, and plague administrative offices for weeks. While this can mean that breaches provide an overwhelming nuisance for universities, IT leaders recognize that the cost of not having a strong incident response plan will most certainly be higher than the cost of ensuring that they have a powerful remediation plan in place.

Defending the home front through security training

Colleges and universities often lack the IT and cybersecurity budget to properly defend and prevent devastating cyberattacks. With many institutions containing multiple divisions, departments, and operating systems, it becomes incredibly difficult to maintain consistent means of security across the board. IT teams are then stretched thin and battling not only external threats, but internal enemies on the home front. Students (and not just those in IT-related studies) will also target systems merely for “fun,” to cause disruptions, delay classroom start times, or even to manually change their grades. This adds an additional layer of risk to mitigate. 

Traditionally, cybersecurity is straightforward in that IT teams separate their systems from the wider internet through various means and focus their attention on external threats facing the systems first. But in higher education, all systems are frontline to both the internet and to the internal students and faculty members who attend. Thus, it is important to prioritize campus-wide education as a crucial part of any information security strategy. Combating the “people problem” in cybersecurity through comprehensive and ongoing training will ensure that digital users are an asset instead of a threat. The act of providing basic security training and education should be a requirement for all campuses. Even with an IT security team working overtime to manage best cyber practices, one mistake from a faculty member or student can place the entire network at risk. For smaller schools that may already struggle with receiving enough IT funding, security training can be an effective and budget-friendly option. 

Establishing cyber awareness among staff and students should include strong multi-factor authentication for password management, safe web browsing practices on campus, and how to recognize and defend against phishing attempts. Student emails are often teeming with announcements, campus advertisements, and even campus jobs. Hackers recognize this opportunity for phishing and often prey on students through personalized and more complicated digital scams. First year students in particular are already nervous, overwhelmed, and strapped for cash, and are more likely to make basic security mistakes if they are not properly educated in what threats to look for as they acclimate. 

Implementing live patching through automation   

Taking mitigation tactics one step further in efforts to reduce the risk of repeated breaches requires higher education institutions to next take a closer look at their cyber awareness and response plans, vulnerability management systems and to establish a multifaceted approach to their security. Implementing robust vulnerability management systems is crucial for identifying and addressing potential weaknesses and exploitable vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure. To some extent, external attacks continue to happen due to users not applying fixes to known vulnerabilities in their systems. Typically, after attacks, patches are applied to fix a specific problem. But patching continues to be viewed as a labor heavy and time-consuming process that gets pushed to the backburned often for months on end. 

Moving this complex process into a more automated approach to patch management would significantly streamline the workload for IT teams. With automatic security patching in place, it not only significantly reduces costly downtime, but it also frees up administrators and provides additional layers of security around student data.  

Cyberattacks and data loss are ever-present threats that the education sector faces daily. As a result, the importance of cultivating a robust cybersecurity posture cannot be overstated. By embracing automation, fostering a unified culture of cyber awareness, and promoting collaboration, colleges and universities alike can better protect their digital assets while providing a secure learning environment for all. 

About the Author:

Joao Correia serves as Technical Evangelist at TuxCare (www.tuxcare.com), a global innovator in enterprise-grade cybersecurity for Linux.