Protect your student data from continued ransomware attacks, says Espria

Legacy systems present major vulnerabilities to organisations across all sectors trying to secure their operations in today’s cybersecurity climate. With the advancement of digital tools at a rapid rate and the onset of generative AI-boosted attacks proliferating amongst cyber actors, there are numerous new threats as well as exposed gaps in security that can no longer be ignored. The Education sector is no exception to attack – it’s just another target containing data ripe for exploitation.

Sophos’ The State of Ransomware in Education 2024 report has highlighted that, although ransomware attack rates are falling, they remain at dangerous levels. Where only 63% of lower education and 66% of higher education organisations were hit by

ransomware in the last year – a considerable decrease from the 80% and 79%

reported in 2023, respectively, attack rates in education remain greater than the global cross-sector average (59%).

Brian Sibley, Virtual CTO at Espria comments, “Education remains a target for cyber actors due to the lucrative value of data available for minimal investment in attack. Often, these organisations find themselves without the cybersecurity budget, or even IT budget, for effective tools, which thus becomes a wider attack surface for ransomware and similar cyber attacks.

“Particularly with legacy systems, schools must cover a wider range of hardware, some much older and thus needing extensive updates and safeguarding. Add to that the factor that systems are accessed by a range of people who may fall prey to phishing attacks or malicious emails, and you create the perfect medium for network entry and attack. IT operators for schools and academies can’t be complacent when it comes to security, as threats aren’t going away.”

The Sophos’ report also highlights that, whilst attack rates have fallen slowly, recovery costs have more than doubled. The average cost to recover from ransomware attacks in primary and secondary education organisations has more than doubled since 2023 to £2.8 million, and in higher education organisations nearly quadrupled to over £3 million. Two-thirds of organisations will choose to pay up to get encrypted data back – a massive increase from previous years.

Sibley commented, “IT operators in schools need to be proactive in their cybersecurity strategy. With already tight budgets to contend with a hefty ransomware payout is something they definitely cannot afford. Mitigating threats before they can occur is a simple strategy, but operators need to have the orchestration of security tools in place to ensure nothing slips through the cracks when it comes to cyber threats.

“Your choice of MSP is therefore critical in architecting the best approach to close security gaps. Through a wider alliance of cybersecurity partnerships, schools and academies can gain access to greater expertise and compatible security solutions through their managed service provider, and thus quickly upgrade their existing operations to become more future-ready against threats now and in the coming years. All of this is also available on a budget, helping organisations reduce costs, not just via better solution pricing, but also in preventing payouts to attackers.”

“Education will continue to be a target when it comes to cybercriminal attacks, and therefore organisations need to be making operational IT changes now before further attacks occur. Can you really afford to be risking your security and putting staff, parents’ and students’ data at risk? A collaborative security partnership gives educators the tools they need to ensure safe learning for all students in the digital age – the options are there, it’s just about trusting the right MSP.”