Students Hacking Time

Education Cybersecurity Weekly is a curated weekly news overview for those concerned about the Education industry. It provides summaries of and links to articles and news that cover a broad spectrum of cybersecurity topics and events.

Student hacking systems is an ongoing challenge for K-12

Education Week on June 12, 2018

Hacker groups spreading ransomware are not the only serious threat which educational institutions face. Today, students hack their own schools.

Driven by the intention to fix their grades, teenagers have accessed student information systems in at least 10 states – from California to New Jersey – this school year.

K-12 information technology experts assume the problem originates from schools failing to take basic protective measures.

Possible solutions to the problem would be an in-depth analysis of the security of applications (like the Student Information System), penetration testing, or specialized vulnerability scanners.

Student data should be treated as banking or medical records

EdTech focus on K-12 on June 13, 2018

The information from SaaS (Software as a Service) applications are stored in the cloud. Although, not all of these apps have the same level of security.

Hackers won’t miss an opportunity to steal sensitive data. It means that schools must not overlook the security of data. It’s highly recommended that K-12 organizations audit data security, keep track of access to it, and make sure no data is exposed to public access.

Tips for IT leaders from UBTech 2018

EdTech focus on Higher Education on June 6, 2018

Joanne Martin, the founder of JLM Consulting, spoke on “The Next Generation of Cybersecurity: The Changing Threats and the Evolving Technology” at the 2018 UBTech Conference in Las Vegas.

She noticed that a single higher education record is worth $265 on the dark web, which motivates hackers to take advantage of vulnerabilities in campus networks.

Martin assumed that all the smart devices that are part of the Internet of Things (IoT) bring a new-wave of vulnerabilities to campuses, putting whole networks at risk. It’s not just a bold blank statement: there have been some real incidents in 2017. One of the most unusual attacks against an American university’s network resulted in Internet connection standstill over the campus due to 5,000 Internet-connected objects making requests for seafood. IoT malware used the devices’ default password to take control over them.

IT leaders should protect their environments by all means necessary and promote the culture of risk awareness.

Why you should learn from data breaches

EdTech focus on Higher Education on June 12, 2018

With the growing frequency of data breaches of educational institutions, it’s mandatory to develop appropriate response strategies. Leaders in IT, information security, and other administrative spheres should be prepared for breaches and establish data recovery plans following the checklist:

• Well-defined procedures, staged threat simulations
• Sufficient communication about a response
• Designate those in charge of the response process
• Collect data from breaches and test response plans.

This Education Cyber Security overview has shed light on what’s happening in the cybersecurity of K-12 and Higher Education.

In the world plagued by data breaches, students keep on hacking their own schools, which only adds fuel to the fire. The point to take home is that any institution may fell victim if proper protective measures are not in place.