NETWORK SECURITY FOR EDUCATION PROVIDERS
Learning support For education providers, a cyberattack can be devastating and stop young people learning – and incidents are rising fast. Network security is now a priority for providers and resellers have a crucial role to play in ensuring they get the right solution.
While cyberattacks on high-profile businesses have made headlines this year, there is another worrying trend that hasn’t garnered as much attention – how many educational establishments have also suffered debilitating security breaches. Rachel Rothwell, regional director at Zyxel Networks, points to a recent government survey that found that educational institutions are even more likely to be hit by a cyberattack than businesses. “An astonishing 60% of secondary schools have been hit in the past year and in further and higher education, the proportion is even higher – 85% and 91%, respectively,” she notes. “For primaries, the figure was still very high at 44% – about the same level of businesses that have detected attacks.” As Mat Pullen, director for education at Jamf, notes, an attack can have serious consequences. “A security breach isn’t only damaging to systems that IT look after, it ultimately impacts on student learning,” he says. “Attacks potentially resulting in staff being unable to access online learning resources, or the school itself being forced to temporarily close – all resulting in lost learning time. “If primary schools have to close, that can also potentially force parents to stay at home to look after their children. Suddenly, a cyberattack against a school is impacting businesses across other sectors. “In an extreme case, 14 schools in Shropshire were attacked, meaning that students couldn’t submit their GCSE or
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A-level coursework. Missing coursework deadlines would have been highly stressful for students and teachers, especially given that it often reflects months of work which can shape future education and career paths.” Graham Foxwell, ICT product marketing lead at Kyocera Document Solutions UK, adds that under UK data protection law, institutions have strict obligations to keep personal information secure. “The new Data Use and Access Act 2025 adds further clarity on safeguarding children’s data and managing access rights,” he adds. “In recent incidents, schools hit by ransomware have faced complete IT shutdowns. Both live and backup data encrypted. In one case, the building control system was affected, preventing staff from regulating temperatures, while access to parent contact details was lost. This created serious safeguarding challenges.” Educational institutions are prime targets, due to their vast digital infrastructures, adds VimalRaj Sampathkumar from ManageEngine. “With many students using their own devices – including mobile applications – there are plenty of opportunities for attackers to strike,” he says. “Education providers also tend to
Education providers also tend to have
open networks, available for any device to connect to. This means it's easy for viruses, malware and hackers to enter and create havoc on the network especially with the growing range of highly sophisticated phishing attacks, such as deep fakes.
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