Increase in cyber attacks: Education sector overwhelmed

Most educational institutions lack the resources for robust and comprehensive cyber security programmes

[datensicherheit.de, 03/25/2025] In a statement dated March 18th 2025, KnowBe4 warns that most educational institutions lack the resources for solid and comprehensive cyber security programmes – this finding is based on the new KnowBe4 report „From Primary Schools to Universities, The Global Education Sector is Unprepared for Escalating Cyber Attacks“. According to this report, other cyber security experts also share the concern about the cyber fragility of the education sector: Check Point Research, for example, found that it was apparently the sector most affected by cyber attacks in 2024. In any case, the number of cyber attacks in this sector has risen sharply.

Foto: KnowBe4

Stu Sjouwerman on the topic of Human Risk: All people with access to IT systems should have the right tools, training and awareness to protect themselves from cyber threats!

Key findings of the KnowBe4 report on cyber threats in the education sector:

• Both schools and universities often rely on third-party providers for „software-as-a-service“, „cloud“ storage and IT services
  This poses a risk, as vulnerabilities or breaches in third-party systems could later affect all institutions using these services – often unnoticed.
• Combination of modern and old IT systems opens gateway for attackers
  The search for a gateway for attackers is made easier by the fact that schools and universities often combine modern and old IT systems due to limited resources and the increasing need for modernisation – „which can lead to highly sensitive personal data remaining on outdated systems that can be exploited!“
• In its „Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) 2024“, Verizon investigated a total of 30,458 security incidents
  According to this report, 10,626 of these were confirmed data breaches: Of these, 1,780 incidents (17%) were attacks on the education system and 1,537 (14%) were confirmed data breaches, making the education system one of the five most affected industries worldwide.
• In 2023, Trustwave researchers observed 352 ransomware attacks on educational institutions
  According to the Trustwave study in question, phishing is the most common method used to infiltrate an organisation.

Educational institutions: An unprecedented level of cyber risk

This KnowBe4 report aims to demonstrate the significant impact of security training on reducing human risk in educational institutions: „After participating in sustained training and phishing simulations for a year or more, the vulnerability of employees in small educational institutions to phishing attacks dropped dramatically – from 33.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent.“

„Today’s education environment is becoming increasingly digital, increasing the attack surface of educational institutions and creating an unprecedented level of cyber risk,“ comments Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4. He adds: „Educational institutions have inadvertently become prime targets for sophisticated threat actors due to a general lack of resources.“

According to Sjouwerman, the most concrete and effective step an educational institution can take to protect important and sensitive data is to ensure that all individuals accessing IT systems have the right tools, training and awareness to protect against cyber threats and reduce human risk.

Further information on the topic:

KnowBe4
From Primary Schools to Universities, the Global Education Sector is Unprepared for Escalating Cyber Attacks

TRUSTWAVE, Serhii Melnyk, 01/21/2025
The New Face of Ransomware: Key Players and Emerging Tactics of 2024

CHECK POINT, 08/13/2024
Research: Check Point Research Warns Every Day is a School Day for Cyber Criminals with the Education Sector as the Top Target in 2024

verizon business, 2024
Data Breach Investigations Report 2024

datensicherheit.de, 09/16/2020
Europas Bildungswesen vermehrt im Visier der Hacker / Verlagerung des Unterrichts ins Internet macht diesen Bereich sehr attraktiv für Hacker

datensicherheit.de, 09/07/2020
E-Learning: Bildungseinrichtungen vor Bedrohungen schützen / Matthias Canisius fordert „Sicherheitskultur des Misstrauens und der Wachsamkeit“ angesichts wachsender Bedrohungen durch Cyber-Angriffe

datensicherheit.de, 06/04/2020
DDoS: Bildungseinrichtungen im Dauerstress / Laut NETSCOUT besteht bezüglich Cybersecurity „immer Prüfungszeit“

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Cloud: Datenaustausch gefährdet IT-Sicherheit im Bildungssektor / 54 Prozent der Mitarbeiter in Bildungseinrichtungen nutzen Cloud-Anwendungen zum Austausch sensibler Daten

datensicherheit.de, 12/16/2018
Krypto-Jacking: Bedrohung vor allem für das Bildungswesen / NTT Security warnt vor Missbrauch von IT-Systemressourcen durch Cyber-Kriminelle