DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Education Sector Heavily Targeted as the School Year Begins

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Dissent

A threat highlight from the New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC):

Summary

As the 2023 school year begins, threat actors are poised to launch various types of cyberattacks ranging from direct deposit scams to ransomware. The education sector is often targeted during holiday breaks. Threat actors take advantage of this pastime when staff is away or just prior to busy seasons, such as the beginning of the school year, long weekends, or before the end of a marking period when final grades are due. Within the last few weeks, publicly announced ransomware attacks sharply increased and included Cleveland City Schools in Tennessee, Clifton Public Schools, the Prince George’s County Public Schools – one of the largest US school districts with approximately 130,000 students in the Washington D.C. area – and the University of Michigan, just three weeks after the MOVEit data theft attack impacted Michigan State University.

Recent scams targeting college students include bogus credit cards, scholarship and grant scams, employment scams, fake student loans, and student loan forgiveness scams. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a consumer alert emphasizing that students do not need to pay for access to government student loan debt relief programs. Furthermore, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) identified a recent tactic used by scammers that included a phishing email or SMS text message claiming to be from the school’s financial department. The message instructs the student to click on a malicious link provided in the email and log in with a student username and password, subsequently sending user credentials and other information to the cybercriminal and inadvertently downloading malware.

Additionally, between July 1 and August 13, Trend Micro researchers identified 152,186 back-to-school shopping-related scam URLs, with a 62.47 percent year-over-year increase. These statistics stress the urgent need for parents, teachers, and students to be equipped with strong cyber and media literacy skills.

Recommendations

The NJCCIC recommends users educate themselves and others on this and similar cyber threats. Users are advised to refrain from initiating contact in response to unsolicited or unexpected emails and, instead, call the referenced organization via the phone number found on the official website. Users are also encouraged to mark and flag these messages as “spam” or “phishing” via their email client so that the system may better learn how to identify similar fraudulent emails and prevent them from being delivered to end-user inboxes.

Furthermore, the NJCCIC recommends education sector administrators perform scheduled backups regularly, keeping an updated copy offline in the event of natural disasters or if online backups become encrypted. Additionally, keep systems up to date and apply patches as they become available, enable strong endpoint security, enforce cyber hygiene, and implement a defense-in-depth strategy. The NJCCIC provides further reporting in the Ransomware: The Current Threat Landscape post and additional recommendations in the Ransomware: Risk Mitigation Strategies technical guide. Additional information can be found in CISA’s StopRansomware Guide. Cyber incidents can be reported to local police departments, the FTC, the BBB, the FBI’s IC3, and the NJCCIC.

Category: Commentaries and AnalysesEducation SectorU.S.

Post navigation

← Norman Public Schools tells media, families it will strive to communicate better
At some point, SNAtch Team stopped being the Snatch ransomware gang. Were journalists the last to know? →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Data breach of patient info ends in firing of Miami hospital employee
  • Texas DOT investigates breach of crash report records, sends notification letters
  • PowerSchool hacker pleads guilty, released on personal recognizance bond
  • Rewards for Justice offers $10M reward for info on RedLine developer or RedLine’s use by foreign governments
  • New evidence links long-running hacking group to Indian government
  • Zaporizhzhia Cyber ​​Police Exposes Hacker Who Caused Millions in Losses to Victims by Mining Cryptocurrency
  • Germany fines Vodafone $51 million for privacy, security breaches
  • Google: Hackers target Salesforce accounts in data extortion attacks
  • The US Grid Attack Looming on the Horizon
  • US govt login portal could be one cyberattack away from collapse, say auditors

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • California county accused of using drones to spy on residents
  • How the FBI Sought a Warrant to Search Instagram of Columbia Student Protesters
  • Germany fines Vodafone $51 million for privacy, security breaches
  • Malaysia enacts data sharing rules for public sector
  • U.S. Enacts Take It Down Act
  • 23andMe Bankruptcy Judge Ponders Trump Bill’s Injunction Impact
  • Hell No: The ODNI Wants to Make it Easier for the Government to Buy Your Data Without Warrant

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.