Data breach in education

 Data breach in education

A data breach in education is not any basic cyber attack incident you can handle with only a day or two. A school system data breach is unauthorized access to sensitive information on your systems from an unknown source. Also, not all breaches can be reported. When a data breach affects things such as payroll, accounting, human resource details, and such, the breach incidence can and should be reported. Data breach prevention in education is necessary, citing that this kind of data breach ranks third most targeted group. 

What is a Data Breach incident/ security threat in education?

Educational institutions are at a high risk of data breaches due to their repositories that are full of sensitive data. This personal data includes names, dates of birth, social security numbers, home addresses, phone numbers etc. Finding all the needed data on one platform is a jackpot for the hackers.

Hackers use different methods to breach the school's systems. A very common one that accounts for up to 61% of all breaches is phishing emails. This is where the hacker sends an email that seems to be from a convincing source but, with a link, once clicked on, grants access to the user's computer. The risk of a data breach in educational apps is another way hackers can gain access to the school's system other than through emails.

Ransomware is another tactic used by hackers whereby the malware they use blocks you from accessing your network, and access is only granted if you pay their ransom if any was asked. This requires a new system installed as most don't adhere to the ransom.

The effects of data leaks in education cost a lot of money; it’s expensive and costs up to $225 per breached record. On average most school breach data protection is slow at best, counting 221 days to identify the breach and 83 days to handle it. That means many days and millions will go into solving the breach.

Network protection from hackers

1.      No compromise enforcing multi-factor authentication for all stakeholders

No more "1234" or "password" as your password; they are lazy and easily hacked. Having a two-step verification password system allows for sensitive information to be more guarded. Also, it is important to have a system that forces employees to regularly change their passwords.

2.      Educating Employees on cyber attacks

The people who will let in the thieves are your very own. Educating the staff, employees, and students ensures smarter reactions from the school. Learning and understanding the enemy is how to defeat them. Prevention is always better than the 304 days (at best) cure.

3.      Incredibly control access to data sensibly

There is normally very sensitive data that is handled, especially by departments of finance and human resource in educational institutes. A handful of authorized individuals should access such data in sensitive departments to reduce the risk of access to hackers.

4.      Identify and segment our network

Having one repository where all the school's data can be easily accessed makes the hacker's work easy. Avoid this by dividing the system into groups and departments where each grouping has security measures and protocols known only to them.

5.  IT department upgrade to high-grade encryption

School data breach prevention starts with a strong IT team with software and systems that enable them to apply the security systems and monitor any strange activity as soon as possible. Banks can spot a breach within 150 days and sort it in a month because their security systems and IT team are armored and ready with high-grade encryption software.

6. Secure your data with a cyber security company

The schools IT team  requires help to fully handle the schools cyber security sufficiently. Having a cyber security company set up a secure system which their team alongside the schools IT team can liaise with, will greatly improve the schools cyber security.