US report finds increasing cyberattacks against PSE; Canada notes growing cybersecurity labour demand

A recent report from a US credit agency has found that cyberattacks against postsecondary institutions are on the rise, adding to the financial strain felt by many colleges and universities. The postsecondary sector is reportedly a “target-rich environment” because of the large amounts of intellectual property and personally identifiable information housed at each institution. Fitch found that over 200 universities publicly disclosed that they were the victims of cyberattacks that stole research data and intellectual property over the last two years. Attacks were focused primarily on industrial and defense technology information. Ransomware attacks also doubled over the course of 2020 in the US, and both the number of attacks and size of the associated demand continued to increase. The report notes that investing in cyber preparedness is “critical” in the sector as it continues to be exploited by bad actors. The Ottawa Sun reports that, with the increasing cybercrime, the cybersecurity sector is facing 25,000 job openings in Canada and 3.5 million unfilled jobs worldwide. The Sun reports that the labour demand is expected to increase. Inside Higher Ed| Fitch Wire| Ottawa Sun Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.