Back to School Means Back to Breaches
Security Boulevard: Parents typically have a checklist that includes at least a few security items (Is there a campus shuttle for after-hours? What access systems are used on dorm doors?) when they pack up their kids and send them to college, particularly for the first time.
Now they can add cybersecurity to the list after NordVPN researchers found that higher education is increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, with 80 universities breached in the last two years. Those schools are rich with data — personal and financial — belonging to students and employees and which can be used for identity theft and fraud.
“Education systems will remain a prime target for cybercriminals due to the massive troves of sensitive personal and financial data they collect. K-12 schools alone average more than one cyber incident per school day, according to CISA, underscoring the sector’s vulnerability,” says Anne Cutler, Cybersecurity Evangelist at Keeper Security.