Hacking Higher Education – Australian Incident and Students’ Tricks

Education Cybersecurity Weekly is a curated weekly news overview for those who are concerned about the Education industry and Education data breach. It provides brief summaries and links to articles and news across a spectrum of EdTech and hacking Higher Education.

Once again? Australian National University has faced a huge data breach

The Guardian on June 4, 2019

What is Australia famous for? Yeah, we also would mention the Sydney Opera House, unusual species of animals, the Great Barrier Reef… Until we read the following news and decided to include the great university data breach into this list.

The Australian National University discovered a major data breach, affecting nearly 200,000 people. According to vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt, a malefactor illegally accessed personal staff, student and visitor data extending back 19 years. The compromised information includes personal and financial data as well as student academic records. While the investigation is ongoing, the university is working closely with Australian government security agencies and industry security partners.

Indeed, this case is not the first for hacking Higher Education institutions in Australia. Last year, the Australian National University fought off a threat to its network posed by Chinese hackers.

Following the incident reported last year, we undertook a range of upgrades to our systems to better protect our data. Had it not been for those upgrades, we would not have detected this incident.

Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of the Australian National University

IT teams really underestimate what students can actually do

Naked Security on May 30, 2019

If you asked education industry leaders to describe a portrait of a typical student, they would probably outline quite harmless characteristics. However, while the majority of students nervously read the lecture notes before an exam, there may be someone, intending to solve the problem through more radical method. And hack the computer network. Thus, IT administrators should always stay alert.

1. Can’t log in? Teens have a solution

Every time teachers shares the administrator login and password with student who cannot log on the computer, (s)he increases the cyberattack risks.

2. Access gained, keylogger installed

Since young hacker had access to teacher’s credentials, he can plug a keylogger, reporting every action, done by teacher on a computer. Change grades? Easily! To avoid this hardship, admins should check out the antivirus program.

3. Smile, you’re on school security cam

Have you ever wondered that cameras are not only the security measure but also a great way to spy on a teacher’s movement? The only thing you need to do is to install a special program to access the device.

University WiFi is fraught with privacy threats

Education Technology on June 3, 2019

Sometimes we even do not expect that the most common things, we are surrounded by, may become a thorn in our side. The university’s free WiFi hotspot is one of them. Therefore, every time students and faculty approve the connection to free hotspot, they should be aware of the following risks:

With reference to a recent study of 68 UK universities, nearly a quarter of organizations report daily attacks. In the light of this tendency, the national security faces a widening threat as more than 90% of targeted research information is commissioned by the government.

• Unencrypted networks: there is a chance that a poorly configured network will allow open access to transmitted data.
• Malware: your device can be infected by rogue problems.
• Man-in-the-middle attacks: the data interception may lead to the theft of sensitive information.
• Snooping and rogue hotspots are specifically designed to steal your data.

To minimize these risks, check out basic privacy rules: explore your browser settings and disable file sharing on public networks, use a VPN and find a good antivirus, despite the fact that the best and most comprehensive option might not be free.

Hacking Higher Education: research information of the UK universities is a primary target

ComputerWeekly.com on May 30, 2019

Take a look at fresh statistics on hacking Higher Education in the UK.

With reference to a recent study of 68 UK universities, nearly a quarter of organizations report daily attacks. In the light of this tendency, the national security faces a widening threat as more than 90% of targeted research information is commissioned by the government.

Moreover, while nearly a quarter of studied universities believe that their security research might have already been infiltrated, over a half of them noted a cyberattack on their organization has led to research ending up in foreign hands.

As the cyber threat evolves, and attacks become more sophisticated, it is imperative that universities invest heavily in their cyber defences and protect the professional and personal data of the 2.5 million students and staff learning and working in universities across the UK.

Talal Rajab, head of programme, cyber and national security at TechUK

Fish morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I really do not understand what’s wrong with cookies.

Every time my man Anthony switches on his aquarium and starts knocking his fins on the keyboard, he gets so frustrated and recommends deleting all cookies.

What if he never tasted the chocolate ones?