Cybersecurity in the educational sector

Technology has also made its way into the education sector. Teaching through computers and screens is the most common and widely used method by educational institutions nowadays.

It is no longer news that children now are brn with tablets, computers, and mobile phones. It is surprising how one-year-old babies already know the swipe movement to get something on the screen to move or appear. 

However, the use of screens combined with the internet has begun to worry parents and educational centers. Is the privacy and anonymity of their young children really safe? What protection and security measures are increasingly digitalized centers using?

But in reality…

What interest could a school or educational center hold for a cybercriminal?

It is true that cybercriminals are not in the least interested in students' class notes, but they are very interested in their personal data.

It is important to keep in mind that one of the main objectives of cybercriminals when they decide to cyberattack a company, organization, or institution is to steal data. Sensitive and confidential information that they can exchange for financial gain.

Schools and educational centers often have data, and in most cases, data about minors, making them an even more valuable asset.

But what about universities where there are adults? Universities can be attractive for their research work. Many universities carry out R&D projects.

One of the main problems with educational centers and university institutions is that they still think their information is not relevant or interesting to cybercriminals. This mindset leads many to not invest in adequate cybersecurity measures. 

Types of cyberattacks that an educational center may face

Ransomware attacks are often the most used by cybercriminals to target an educational center or institution. These allow them to access information, encrypting it and preventing the center from accessing it. This way, the cybercriminal can demand a ransom from the educational center in exchange for recovering the information. To make them accept the deal, cybercriminals blackmail them by threatening to make the information public if they don't pay.

Theft or impersonation of identity on social networks can also be a problem for educational centers. More and more schools have teachers taking pictures of students that they upload to the cloud or social networks to share with parents. If a cybercriminal were to obtain the credentials of such accounts, they would have access to the images and information shared on those networks.

Consequences of a cyberattack in an educational center

A cyberattack on an educational center can involve:

Legal consequences: Typically, cyberattacks are accompanied by fines or penalties for mishandling data protection, violating data protection laws. By law, it is mandatory for any organization or institution to report a security incident in order to act accordingly.

Damage to the institution's image and reputation: When an organization or institution is targeted by a cyberattack, users' trust in it decreases. This could lead to parents being unwilling to enroll their children in the center.

Financial losses: Dealing with a cyberattack requires hiring professionals in the field to help resolve the incident and mitigate damages. However, this comes with a cost. 

What can educational centers do to protect their students' information?

In the first instance, awareness is crucial, first among the teaching staff and then among the students. If convinced that there are no dangers and that the center's cybersecurity is not at risk, it will not want to invest in computer security.

The first step for everyone is to understand and acknowledge that there are dangers and that these can be addressed by implementing cybersecurity solutions.

Training for the school's management, as well as its teaching staff and students, is essential to ensure that appropriate action is taken and that data is protected.

At ESED, we offer a solution known as ESED Training. This involves training the employees of a company, institution, or organization to understand the dangers they may face online, or even in email. Did you know that 95% of cyberattacks start with an email? That's why it's important to implement anti-phishing solutions.

Once aware of the threats faced by the educational center, it is important to implement cybersecurity solutions on all computer systems such as:

• Antivirus software

• Firewalls

• Backup systems

  To ensure that the information is protected.

On the other hand, it is important to follow the following recommendations:

• Establish strong passwords on all devices, social networks, or platforms used and enable two-factor authentication (2FA).

• Pay attention to what is shared. Do not expose confidential data or sensitive information and be especially careful with minors' faces.

• Perform regular backups to be able to recover information immediately in case of loss.

• Always visit HTTPS:// websites to ensure the security of the site.

At ESED, as cybersecurity specialists, before protecting a system, we first analyze it to understand the vulnerabilities and security gaps it faces, in order to fully meet its needs. For this, we use our ethical hacking solution, ESED Attack, for system security validation. This involves launching controlled and harmless attacks against a system, thus gaining firsthand knowledge of the potential entry points that a cybercriminal could exploit to infiltrate the system.