Key points:
- Higher education is often left with gaps in security
- Focusing on fundamentals and bringing in outside help can strengthen cybersecurity measures and protect critical data
Cybersecurity incidents at higher education institutions are on the rise. That includes ransomware attacks. According to one survey, 64 percent of responding institutions reported ransomware attacks in 2021 – up from 44 percent the prior year. Education institutions often still struggle with legacy systems and need to modernize – but they’re hindered in these efforts by a number of factors, including a limited budget and compliance requirements. And the rise of online learning exacerbated an already difficult situation.
Let’s look at the threat landscape and how this sector can overcome its security challenges.
Examining the threat landscape and the challenges creating complexity
The various techniques and strategies used by threat actors are becoming more sophisticated. At the same time, the dialogue about the various tools, techniques, and strategies that higher education needs to fight those threat actors is also becoming complex. In addition, we are seeing cyber incidents increase – and the attack surface is continuing to expand.
Essentially, with all the complexities and the breadth of cybersecurity controls that are needed to protect an organization, what happens is that without the right level of talent and the right amount of support, small and medium organizations (like most higher education institutions) can’t keep up. This makes it very difficult for them to make any kind of progress in cybersecurity.
Amit Gandre is CEO, Americas and Alex Quesada is Director, Public Sector and Higher Education at Inspira Enterprise.
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