School administrators are, by nature, extremely cautious because of the sensitive nature of their jobs. Perhaps due to this, they have always been reticent when it comes to adopting new technology. The cyberattacks on schools that are crippling the education system are not making their life any better.
The online attacks which were reserved for financial institutions and other organizations are now being unleashed on schools which are technology-rich.
Last week, the school district of Syracuse, New York became victims of a ransomware attack. It is reported that the attackers have been asking for a ransom to “unlock” the computers.
Why is there a surge in cyberattacks on schools?
With the increased usage of technology, attacking a school network provides a large amount of data which can be sold for a profit. Perpetrators can also be pranksters or even foreign governments.
One of the reasons for the increased attack is that many schools have very few or no staff who is qualified to handle issues of cybersecurity.
When the Coventry School District in Ohio had their systems down due to a virus, FBI helped guide the recovery efforts and tutored the staff on Best Practices.
The perpetrators of the attack are rarely caught as it is difficult to trace the origin of the cyberattacks online. Though in March 2019, a Nigerian man living in Georgia was sentenced to ten months for a scam he ran to claim tax refunds of school employees. But more often than not, the culprits escape the law.
In the past, many school districts have paid large amounts due to the ransomware attacks. The “United States Conference of Mayors” which was held last week passed a resolution to not pay ransoms for the ransomware attacks anymore.
The way forward for the schools should be to procure cybersecurity insurance and have staff who are equipped to handle the security needs of the school systems.
