Over 18,000 attacks against the education industry globally in the latter half of 2020

The Threat Intelligence Report breaks down the state of cybercriminal activity by industry, including the education sector, which was in the top 10 for the most targeted industries in 2H2020, as is evidenced by there being over 18,000 attacks against the education industry globally in the latter half of the year. In addition, researchers identified DDoS activity at not only the higher education level, but also at secondary school level, with some students likely wishing to disrupt e-learning during the pandemic. 

This follows a wider trend with NETSCOUT, a leading provider of service assurance, security, and business analytics, recording a record-breaking 10 million plus DDoS attacks in the last six months alone. Additionally, findings revealed that cybercriminals exploited vulnerabilities exposed by massive shifts in internet usage, generating a 20% year-over-year increase in attack frequency in 2020.