Why You Should Be Scared..
Schools have long since moved into the digital age, where classrooms are filled with devices connected to the internet, servers managing confidential student records and financial information that are secured by an underbudgeted IT department offering little protection. 60% of all secondary schools across the UK have identified a breach or attack of their systems within the last year with possibly thousands of more malicious acts going unnoticed. yearly. CyberSafeSchools is the place to be to help educational institutes identify and mitigate all the possible threats that they could face at any time.
What Exactly Are the Big Threats?
- Social Engineering – In an attempt to gain access or information, criminals will use psychological pressure to influence people to perform actions that could harm the integrity or security of confidential information or computer systems. Although dangerous if undetected, simple detection methods have been developed that completely stop any possible attacks.
- Ransomware – Malicious software built to encrypt and hold a victim’s confidential information for ransom, demanding money for its release. The encryptions used are impossible to crack, where paying up is the only way to secure the data is not stolen and sold online which if targeted at just one school could destroy hundreds of families and staff.
- Phishing – The most common form of reported attacks that schools suffer from. A Type of Social Engineering attack designed to trick and manipulate authorised users into giving confidential information or passwords to untrusted parties unwillingly. Often occurring through emails, these parties can even install malware onto personal or school systems, compromising everyone.
Contact Us Today To Help Your School
By joining us, we will provide your DSLs, Senior leaders and Governors with all the necessary free tools that comply with NCSC standards of protection, which will protect your students and staff.
About the author: This post was written by Isaac Tomlinson, a student on the CyberSafeSchools Academy virtual work experience programme. The Academy provides secondary school and college students with structured, hands-on experience in cybersecurity and digital marketing. Find out more about the Academy →