Waqas reports that based on research by Sophos, the education sector is the most vulnerable and targeted by ransomware attacks.
KEY FINDINGS
- 80% of lower education providers and 79% of higher education institutions reported ransomware attacks in the last year.
- Education is the most targeted industry by cybercriminals, primarily motivated by the high percentage of schools choosing to pay the ransom.
- The recovery costs from ransomware attacks have remained steady at around $1.59 million in 2023 and 2022 for lower education providers, while recovery costs in higher education have decreased significantly from the $1.42 million reported last year to just over $1 million in 2023.
- Education providers lack the funds that large corporations have to invest in robust cybersecurity measures and even staff training, leading to many loopholes sophisticated hacker groups can exploit.
- The Biden-Harris Administration has announced a $200 million initiative over three years to bolster cyber defences in K-12 schools.
Read more at HackRead.
Related: The State of Ransomware in Education 2023.
This post was edited post-publication to remove credit to a firm that did not provide any research of its own.