3 Ways Colleges Can Minimize Higher Data Security Risks

The value of data is growing. With every breach, risks and costs grow with it. This is especially true in education.

A recent Ponemon Institute study reported that the average cost of a breach globally is $154 per record.

It’s a high price, but it can be even higher in the education sector – $300 per record, according to the same study.

Another recent study from Symantec found that education was the third most breached sector last year, and it may get even worse.

Schools are targets because they host a variety of different kinds of valuable information. AT&T’s security experts have identified that the following drive the majority of cyberattacks against educational institutions:

• Accessing personal information used for identity theft

• Stealing research data and intellectual property

• Preventing or restricting the school’s ability to operate

• Adjusting student grades and test schedules

• Engaging in cyber-bullying

From test schedules to home addresses to scientific research, the material hosted in a school’s data servers could appeal to a variety of hackers. These adversaries include criminals that practice phishing or social engineering, nation states looking to steal cutting edge research, and students looking to tease one another or falsify grades.

Recent news illustrates that the problem reaches even the most prestigious universities, including Harvard University and Brown University. The truth is that it can be an issue at all levels.

Last spring, some students used Distributed Denial of Service attacks to shut down a school district’s system 4 days before standardized testing. As a result, schools could not take attendance, distribute grades, or assign tests or homework. Fortunately, AT&T deployed a solution to help fix the problem. Without help, this could have seriously disrupted the school’s operations for a prolonged period of time.