Friend
Professional
- Messages
- 2,653
- Reaction score
- 850
- Points
- 113
How educational institutions become an easy target for hackers.
The U.S. Highline Public Schools District, which includes more than 17,500 students and 34 schools in Washington state, recently reported a cyberattack on its systems. As a result of the incident on September 9, Monday, all schools in the district were closed, and it is not yet clear when exactly they will reopen. The incident also affected sports events and gatherings, and first-graders were not able to start the school year at the scheduled time.
The county administration said it detected unauthorized activity in its technological systems and immediately took measures to protect them. At the moment, federal and regional cybersecurity specialists are actively involved in restoring the normal operation of networks. The district emphasized that the priority remains the safety of students, despite the inconvenience to families and staff.
As a precaution, district staff were temporarily banned from using office computers and laptops, and internet connections in schools were cut off. This limited employees' access to critical applications necessary for the safe functioning of schools, although access to emails through Office 365 and business phones remained.
Tove Tapper, a spokeswoman for the district, noted that there have been no leaks of personal data of employees or students so far, but access to key systems such as school transport management has been affected. Tupper stressed that restoring access to these systems is especially important at the beginning of the school year.
Cyberattacks on schools have become increasingly common in many countries, especially at the beginning of the school year, when institutions are most vulnerable to impact. Earlier this year, a school in Essex, UK, was also forced to close on the eve of important exams due to a ransomware attack that blocked access to IT systems.
Security experts explain that the start of the school year is a convenient time for hackers looking to pressure schools for a quick ransom. According to experts, attacks on educational institutions at critical moments of their work are similar to cyberattacks on other industries during periods of their maximum activity.
Don Smith, vice president of Secureworks, noted that even with limited resources, schools can protect themselves from cyber threats. He stressed the importance of regularly updating network systems and using multi-factor authentication to increase the level of cyber protection of educational institutions.
Source
The U.S. Highline Public Schools District, which includes more than 17,500 students and 34 schools in Washington state, recently reported a cyberattack on its systems. As a result of the incident on September 9, Monday, all schools in the district were closed, and it is not yet clear when exactly they will reopen. The incident also affected sports events and gatherings, and first-graders were not able to start the school year at the scheduled time.
The county administration said it detected unauthorized activity in its technological systems and immediately took measures to protect them. At the moment, federal and regional cybersecurity specialists are actively involved in restoring the normal operation of networks. The district emphasized that the priority remains the safety of students, despite the inconvenience to families and staff.
As a precaution, district staff were temporarily banned from using office computers and laptops, and internet connections in schools were cut off. This limited employees' access to critical applications necessary for the safe functioning of schools, although access to emails through Office 365 and business phones remained.
Tove Tapper, a spokeswoman for the district, noted that there have been no leaks of personal data of employees or students so far, but access to key systems such as school transport management has been affected. Tupper stressed that restoring access to these systems is especially important at the beginning of the school year.
Cyberattacks on schools have become increasingly common in many countries, especially at the beginning of the school year, when institutions are most vulnerable to impact. Earlier this year, a school in Essex, UK, was also forced to close on the eve of important exams due to a ransomware attack that blocked access to IT systems.
Security experts explain that the start of the school year is a convenient time for hackers looking to pressure schools for a quick ransom. According to experts, attacks on educational institutions at critical moments of their work are similar to cyberattacks on other industries during periods of their maximum activity.
Don Smith, vice president of Secureworks, noted that even with limited resources, schools can protect themselves from cyber threats. He stressed the importance of regularly updating network systems and using multi-factor authentication to increase the level of cyber protection of educational institutions.
Source
