DDoS attacks have been more frequent in 2020, almost a 500% increase as compared to 2019.
DDoS attacks targeting educational institutions
For the year 2020, since the pandemic started, almost every enterprise and institution has diverted into digital transactions and online platforms. With this in mind, the cases of cyber-attacks have dramatically increased. In addition to the increased DDoS attacks, page phishing, and spam emails have also been constantly been a concern lately. With a lot of new users inside the online network, fraudsters are making the most of the opportunity to pounce on them and take advantage of their lack of familiarity with the internet.
One of the most targetted institutions on the internet recently is educational institutions, this includes schools, universities, and everything related to online learning. Due to the pandemic, a lot of educational institutions have resorted to online/virtual learning. But, not all are convinced that it is effective, and some are just wanting to disrupt the process and jeopardize the system.
Cyber-attacks on online educational platforms
Just the first quarter of 2020, cyber-attacks on online educational platforms have reached to almost 500% increase from the same months of 2019. E-learning services delivering online education to students have been the most targetted among all other online platforms. With the huge number of users, data phishing through spam emails can easily take away vital information from unsuspecting users, unfamiliar and unaware of the threats of data leaks, new users are good targets for opportunistic online fraudsters.
Online platform administrators should ensure that their websites are able to fend off basic DDoS attacks and always remind their users to be vigilant against phishing sites sent through their emails. This will help bug down the number of cybersecurity cases globally.
