Two recent studies highlight the growing issue of cyberattacks within the education sector. Rhea Kelly of Campus Technology reported on a study by cybersecurity company Netwrix, which found that 77% of surveyed K-12 and higher education institutions had experienced a cyberattack on their infrastructure in the past 12 months, up from 69% in 2023. The most common types of attacks were phishing, user account compromise, and ransomware or malware. Micah Ward of University Business noted similar findings from a study by cybersecurity site Comparitech, which identified an increase in ransomware attacks against K-12 and higher education institutions in 2023 compared to 2022. This study also found that the average cost of a ransomware attack in education was approximately $500K USD per day of downtime and observed that such attacks typically occur in the fall and winter.
