Cybercrime is hitting the UK education sector hard. In fact, it’s becoming one of the most frequently targeted sectors in the UK.
The rising cyber threat to UK schools and universities
Recent government figures show that more than half of primary schools, and 71% of secondary schools, suffered a cyber breach or attack in the past year. The situation is even worse in further and higher education, where 86% of colleges and 97% of universities reported being hit.
The attacks themselves are growing more sophisticated, and more damaging. Phishing attempts have become a daily fact of life. But phishing attacks are just one small part of an ever-expanding, ever-evolving array of cyber threats. Universities in particular face wave upon wave of increasingly advanced attacks, including:
- Impersonation attacks (79%)
- Malware and spyware (59%)
- Denial of Service (DoS) attacks (35%)
- Unauthorised access by outsiders (26%).
The costs for affected institutions can be eye-watering. Ransom demands now average around the million pound mark. And that’s before you factor in additional costs associated with recovering from a cyber attack. These can potentially add another £3 million to the bill.
On top of the direct financial cost, educational establishments often face days of disruption, loss of sensitive data, and all the operational stresses that come with trying to get back on track - without the same IT firepower many commercial organisations can rely on.
Why would cyber criminals target schools, colleges and universities? Educators may not have the deepest pockets, but they are rich in data, often highly sensitive data. An additional draw is that cyber criminals are well aware that budgetary pressures and limited IT resources often that mean education-sector institutions struggle to keep up with all the latest security measures.
If you work in education, you won’t need us to tell you how crucial it is to protect personal records, financial details and intellectual property from theft, encryption or leaks. We’ve supported many schools and colleges through the aftermath of cyber attacks, and we’ve seen first-hand the toll it takes on staff, students and the wider community.
That’s why we’ve decided to help. At Solis, we’re offering our enterprise-grade managed detection and response (MDR) service to education providers at a significantly reduced rate. By discounting our own fees and negotiating special deals with partners, we can now offer schools and colleges the same 24/7 MDR protection we deliver to our large commercial clients, but at around half the price.
That means:
- Protection of your data against unauthorised access or theft
- A faster expert-led response, if an attack should occur
- Ongoing compliance with regulations like GDPR and FERPA
- Minimal disruption to teaching and admin functions.
We understand the unique pressures education institutions face, and we’ve built our education-sector MDR offering is specifically designed to respond to these. Our solution works quietly in the background to spot suspicious activity and stop it in its tracks, before it causes serious damage.
Ready to boost your institution’s cyber resilience?
Contact us today at enquiries.uk@solissecurity.com to find out more about this offer - or to request a FREE security review that will help you understand what more you could be doing to keep your educational institution safe.
