Data from Check Point Research (CPR) shows that the global education sector saw a rise in digital breaches targeting education institutes last month, with the sector experiencing the highest volume of cyber-attacks in July compared to other industries tracked by CPR.
According to the figures, individual education providers saw an average of 1,739 documented cyber-attacks every week last month – a 29% increase from the first half of 2021.
India, Italy, Israel, Australia and Turkey experienced the highest number of weekly attacks, as well as the biggest percent increases compared to the first half of this year.
|
Ranking |
Country |
# of Weekly Cyber Attacks in July |
% Change from H1 |
|
1 |
India |
5,196 |
+ 22% |
|
2 |
Italy |
5,016 |
+ 70% |
|
3 |
Israel |
4,011 |
+ 51% |
|
4 |
Australia |
3,934 |
+ 17% |
Education was the most targeted sector in more than half of the nations surveyed by CPR, ranking in the top three most-attacked sectors in 94% of the countries analysed.
In terms of region, Asia was impacted most, with education institutes in South Asia experiencing the greatest number of attacks.
“Schools, universities and research centres make for attractive targets to cybercriminals because they are often under-resourced from a security perspective The short notice, on-and-off shift to remote learning exacerbates the security risk. With so many students logging on from their home networks using their personal devices, the current back-to-school season presents a range of new security threats that many aren’t prepared to address.”
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