The Anatomy of Cyber Risks and Defense
The Education Cybersecurity Weekly is a curated weekly news overview for those who are concerned about the Education industry. It provides brief summaries and links to articles and news across a spectrum of cybersecurity and technology topics that are specific to the industry.
Pentesting vs. Vulnerability scanning
EdTech Focus on K-12 on August 10, 2018
As global cyberattack campaigns become commonplace for the educational sector, the questions of navigating the scope of penetration testing, vulnerability scanning tools and choosing the right one to strengthen the cybersecurity posture have come to the fore.
During penetration testing, security professionals attempt to manually infiltrate a company’s network in order to identify the weaknesses in its systems and applications that could be utilized in a real attack conducted by black hat hackers.
Vulnerability scanning refers to automated cybersecurity testing tools that run security checks and explore a network on a regular basis to find hidden vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
Both approaches play a major role in network security of educational institutions, and a combination of regular and frequent vulnerability scans and occasional penetration tests is likely to be used.
8 apps for educators to check out
e-School News on August 10, 2018
The significance of testing the tool’s accuracy was discussed in “Education Cybersecurity Weekly: Choose Right EdTech”. This week, e-School News resource has collected 8 valuable apps for educators, and students can get even more in classes. The apps relate to the topics like STEM, history, and vocabulary.
- Howtosmile
- Photo Stuff with Ruff
- Membean
- Loom
- ARIS
- PBS KIDS Kart Kingdom
- Ink Blott Underground
- Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Check out and select your right EdTech.
US universities phishing
Dark Reading on August 13, 2018
Last week a Nigerian citizen was convicted for targeting colleges and universities in the United States with phishing attacks. Phishing emails were sent to staff members at US educational institutions including the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Virginia. Once the credentials were accessed, the destination for payroll deposits was changed and money was directly sent to perpetrators. Their theft exceeded $6 million.
It’s useful to take note of similar security incidents and know how to prevent them as cyber attacks are one of the biggest threats educational institutions face now.
How to avoid campus data breaches
Education Dive on August 10, 2018
An analysis from a security rating company shows that malware attacks against education outpaced those against government, healthcare, energy, retail, and finance. Cyber attacks with the use of ransomware are especially profitable and common as hackers can encrypt data and lock the access to it to seek ransom. It takes a single click on a malicious link in a phishing email.
The University of Dayton serves as a great example of necessary preventative measures. The University has encouraged a campus-wide effort around performing phishing tests such as sending updates, warnings, and latest security news. In addition, it offers prizes to those who complete the required actions. This boosts the cybersecurity awareness among students, faculty, and staff members, who may not know how easy it is to fall victim to detrimental activity.