Cybersecurity in U.S. Schools: Why a Layered Approach Is Essential

The U.S. education sector has become a prime target for cybercriminals. As schools increasingly adopt digital tools and online learning platforms, they often do so without the funding or infrastructure needed for robust cybersecurity. This combination of limited security resources and access to sensitive data makes K–12 institutions particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Recent Education sector research has reported that schools now face an average of over 3,000 cyberattacks each week, nearly triple the volume from just a year ago. These attacks not only threaten data but also jeopardize the safety of students and staff, disrupt learning, and damage the reputations of schools and districts.

To respond to this growing threat, educational institutions must adopt a layered security strategy —a comprehensive approach that combines multiple defenses across devices, networks, and endpoints. This comprehensive model not only helps schools prevent breaches but also enables them to detect and respond to threats more effectively.

In this article, we explore why cybersecurity in education is more important than ever, what a layered security approach looks like, and how schools can implement it to safeguard their student, staff, data, and reputation.

What Type of Attacks Target the Education Sector?

Like their enterprise counterparts, education establishments and their suppliers are at risk from various cyberattacks, including the following:

Ransomware

Ransomware is an insidious and disruptive cyberattack that prevents eLearning and can cost a school and district large sums of money. A recent report from Malwarebytes found a 70% increase in ransomware attacks targeting the education sector; Worryingly, attacks against K-12 schools have surged by 92%. 

Whether you're a university, school, or school district, protecting your environment from ransomware should be a primary concern. Ransomware can cripple an educational establishment and impact education for weeks. With email cybersecurity that blocks malicious messages and employee education, you greatly reduce your risk of a ransomware incident. Read more.

Cybercriminals Target K–12 Systems with Stolen Data

Increasingly, cybercriminals are using stolen data to extort money from school districts. PowerSchool, a popular educational platform used by K-12 schools, was exploited by cybercriminals who used stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to the PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS). The attackers stole sensitive data from 62 million students and 9 million teachers. The data included social security numbers and medical information. No ransomware was installed. However, the stolen data was used to pressure PowerSchool and several school districts into paying a ransom to have the data deleted. 

Phishing and Social Engineering

Phishing is often used to initiate cyberattacks, such as ransomware and data theft, by stealing login credentials. Higher education phishing attacks almost entirely use the email channel (96%). Google's Workspace Trust and Safety team highlights the problem, finding that long-term phishing campaigns target the sector. Google forms that closely mimic university communications are emailed to students and staff to trick them into filling them in using personal data – the submitted form is sent to the attacker.

Social engineering attacks on naïve students are another area of concern for the education sector, particularly at the K-12 level. Students are often unaware of cybersecurity threats and malware, which are often unknown concepts; their naivety makes them ideal targets.

Cybersecurity for education must employ a defense-in-depth approach, utilizing multiple layers of advanced security measures. These measures must take into account the human-centric nature of modern cyberattacks. Measures must also handle advanced tactics, where cybercriminals use AI to assist in phishing and malware campaigns.

Safeguarding Educational Data with Security Awareness Training

Education is the custodian of our children's education and their data. Hackers may enter illegally, but teachers, administrators, professors, teaching assistants, and other staff can access student social security numbers, financial information, and personally identifiable information (PII). Insider threats from accidental exposure can be as damaging as cyberattacks.

Security awareness training equips staff with the knowledge to identify and prevent phishing, social engineering, and accidental data exposure.

Schools require effective security awareness training that encompasses various aspects of cyberattacks, phishing, and social engineering. Cybercriminals have several tricks up their sleeves, so schools must train staff to recognize the many ways threats compromise data storage systems.

A few areas that security awareness training should cover include:

• Shoulder surfing
• Basic data protection best practices
• Email security
• Social engineering detection
• Mobile device security
• Good password security and generation
• Overviews for common threats and attack strategies

In addition to offering initial security training, organizations must provide supplemental materials and continual training in the future. Security awareness training isn't a "once and done" strategy. Attackers continually change their tactics, and threats evolve to bypass cybersecurity strategies. A school's training program should also incorporate updates to address the latest threats and evolving attack tactics.

Read more about the components of a security awareness training program.

The Education Sector Does Not Need to Be a Target 

The education sector must take a holistic approach to cybersecurity, one that protects sensitive data without disrupting learning or research. Unfortunately, many schools and universities are falling behind on IT security, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The good news? Strengthening your defenses doesn't require a full infrastructure overhaul. Today's cybersecurity solutions can be deployed with minimal disruption, offering scalable, cost-effective protection that's easy for IT administrators to manage.

It's time to take proactive steps to reduce risk and safeguard your institution.

Get in touch today to learn how our education-focused cybersecurity solutions can help your school, college, or university cut security incidents and lower related costs without slowing down your mission to educate. Get started now.