Ransomware attacks keeping the educational sector on its toes

Financially motivated cybercriminals are taking advantage of schools’ need for uptime, their scarcity of cybersecurity defense resources, and lack of expertise compared to other potential targets. In fact, during 2021 in the U.S. alone over 1,000 schools suffered from a ransomware attack, according to Emsisoft research.

Globally, IBM Security X-Force observed that the percentage of ransomware attacks against the education sector more than doubled from 2020 to 2021, with most cyberattacks taking the form of adware or ransomware attacks.

In this video for Help Net Security, John Hendley, Head of Strategy at IBM Security X-Force, discusses the implications of ransomware attacks on the educational sector, and offers tips on how these organizations should protect themselves.