How Further Education can meet the cyber security challenges ahead 

The education sector has recently come under attack from a multitude of threat actors with around 88% of further education institutions suffering a breach or attack in the last 12 months.

With complex IT environments and small in-house teams making them a uniquely vulnerable target, Steve Nurton explains how further education colleges can adapt their cybersecurity strategies to meet the challenges ahead.

The education sector has been a constant target for disruptive cyber attacks in recent years. In early January it was reported that 14 schools had suffered a cyber attack, in which criminal gangs had stolen valuable and highly confidential documents that were then leaked online.

In one of these cases, the hacking group behind the attack obtained important information including child passport scans, children’s SEN information, staff pay scales and contract details. The group has been known to be responsible for a string of other attacks on schools, with the aim of extorting money before selling the data on the dark web to criminal gangs.

It’s further evidence that a perfect storm of budget pressures, the huge roll-out of new technology to support online classes, and more sophisticated attacks have made schools and colleges a prime target for cybercriminals. While threats are constantly involving, all FE institutions need to continue to invest in strategies and infrastructure that will help them meet the challenges that lie ahead. 

Education sector under attack

Recent research by the UK government revealed that around 88% of further education institutions, and 92% of higher education colleges, suffered a breach or attack in the last 12 months. The report also highlighted that nearly half of these attacks have negatively impacted the institutions. This emphasizes the need for robust cyber security solutions that not only stop the attacks from occurring, but also alert the institutions about a possible breach.

Although the importance of maintaining a secure IT infrastructure is well understood by leaders within the education sector, in the cyber arms race the adversaries are constantly staying one step ahead. In a separate audit carried out by the National Cyber Security Centre, it was revealed that 100% of schools now use firewall protection and 99% of schools use anti-virus solutions.

However cyber attackers using cutting-edge techniques will continue to exploit cyber weaknesses, making round-the-clock visibility of systems and new threats a high priority.

Complex IT environments are a uniquely vulnerable target 

One of the reasons the education sector is particularly vulnerable is due to its complex IT environment, as well as ongoing budget constraints. A typical IT infrastructure will have thousands of standard devices – such as laptops, mobile phones and servers – and often a lot of specialised technology that enables pupils to learn skills in different fields like computer science and engineering. This makes it critical for schools and colleges to have proper visibility across all their different systems to spot suspicious behaviour that might indicate an attack.

Outdated, legacy security solutions simply can’t keep up with the dramatically changing threat landscape and there is an urgent need for greater visibility across IT estates. Cyber criminals are continuously updating their strategies, so education institutions need an updated security approach that can combat these threats.

One of the biggest challenges is that of manpower; in-house IT teams are typically small and already have a wide range of different responsibilities and areas to manage. A talented team of skilled cyber experts is the key to meeting the biggest cyber security challenges. However, while budgets are tight and cyber talent is in short supply, very few colleges can stretch their budgets to employ full-time, in-house cyber security staff.   

Making use of specialist technology and the expertise of security teams by partnering up with a managed security service provider can be the best route to fill this gap. Experienced analysts using the latest detection tools can support an in-house IT team and provide round-the-clock visibility of any threats to the infrastructure.

The benefits of partnership

One example is Chesterfield College for further education in North Derbyshire. 

To improve their levels of visibility and responsiveness, Chesterfield College sought to partner with a managed security service provider that could offer the right expertise and tools.  This has delivered Chesterfield College a number of powerful benefits over the last year, from a higher level of security confidence to simpler and more cost-effective IT security management.

Matthew Day, Head of ICT at Chesterfield College explains:

“As well as looking out for active threats, the partnership is hugely beneficial for our routine security needs. Things like software updates and patches are automatically applied, and we are alerted if there are any issues. This is a great help as it frees us up to concentrate on value-add activities: developing the College’s IT to better serve our students, rather than just ‘keeping the lights on’.”

The rapid changes the pandemic brought in the deployment of technology, combined with a fast-changing pace of cyber threats has, for many schools and colleges, led to a renewed need to focus on the safety of sensitive data, devices and the IT infrastructure as a whole.

Reducing the risk of cyber threats is an ongoing challenge and one in which investment will mean making smart and strategic choices about how best to protect against new risks that lie ahead. The technical skills shortage, particularly in cyber security, places the option of full-time staff out of the reach for many institutions. However, this should not mean that they cannot have access to the latest cyber tools and specialist expertise in a way which is affordable.

By Steve Nurton, UK&I Head of Channel Sales at WithSecure