Educational Marketplace

Risks facing Post Secondary Educational Institutions

Student Risk And Staff Risk

  • Educational institutions are under constant cyber attacks

  • Cyberattacks can increasingly take a toll on the finances and reputations of higher-education institutions, especially during this time of COVID-19, when these establishments can least afford losses.

  • Cybercriminals using ransomware increasingly focus on colleges and universities

  • Using phishing emails and stolen credentials to access IT networks, criminals leveraging the ransomware are stealing sensitive information and blocking access to essential data and systems through encryption. They are then demanding payment in exchange for returning access to the targeted institution.

  • Ransom demands are rising quickly, said Callow. In 2020, the average ransomware demand hit $312,493 according to a report by Unit 42, a division of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks. In 2019, the average ransomware demand was $115,123.

  • The University of California, San Francisco, admitted in July that it paid $1.14 million to hackers who encrypted and threatened to publish sensitive information stolen from the institution’s School of Medicine. UCSF, along with institutions such as Michigan State University and Columbia College Chicago, were targeted using a type of ransomware called NetWalker. The University of Utah, which paid a ransom of $457,000 in August 2020, is also believed to be a NetWalker victim.

  • Ransomware attacks on colleges doubled between 2019 and 2020, according to research by cybersecurity company BlueVoyant. NetWalker, Clop, Ryuk and DoppelPaymer were among the most prevalent types of ransomware used.

How Cyber Legends Reduces Institutional Risk

Cyber Security Proof of Learn (POL) Accreditation Tiers

Institutional Security Risks

  • Cyber Attacks

  • Phishing

  • Smishing

  • Malware

  • Ransomware

Student Safety Risks

  • Sextortion

  • Cyberbullying

Platinum

  • All levels of Cyber Saftey (high school level) certification

  • Cyber Security certification (Co-developed with Microsoft)

Gold

  • All levels of CL Cyber Safety Certification (high school level)

Silver

Bronze

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