Universities Share Lessons Learned from Ransomware Attacks

"According to a recent Sophos poll of IT professionals, 44 percent of educational institutions suffered ransomware attacks in 2020, and 58 percent of those hit said the attackers successfully encrypted their data."

Why this is important: Despite patching, back-ups, and testing, educational institutions remain ripe targets for ransomware attacks. Adding flame to the fire, Ed Tech reports that recovery costs in the education sector are nearly 50 percent higher than other industries with an average $2.7M price tag. Tools like PYSA, a form of malware that exfiltrates data and encrypts users' critical files, have been increasingly used by cyber criminals to target higher education, K-12 schools, and seminaries in order to elicit ransom payments, according to the FBI. On college campuses, siloed operations and lack of communication with IT can be a contributing factor.

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