Schools on Rise as 'Prime' Ransomware Attack 'Targets': Sophos

Schools, from primary through university, are increasingly being hit with ransomware, with 60% suffering attacks in 2021 compared with 44% in 2020, reported Sophos Tuesday. The cybersecurity company canvassed 730 educators in 31 countries, finding only 2% were able to recover all their encrypted data after paying a ransom, down from 4% in 2020, it said. Schools, on average, were able to recover 62% of encrypted data after paying ransoms, down from 68% in 2020, it said. Colleges and universities reported the longest ransomware recovery time among all types of schools canvassed, with 40% saying it took them at least a month to recover, compared with 20% for other sectors, and 9% reporting it took three to six months to recover. Schools are “prime targets for attackers because of their overall lack of strong cybersecurity defenses and the gold mine of personal data they hold,” said Sophos analyst Chester Wisniewski. “Education institutions are less likely than others to detect in-progress attacks, which naturally leads to higher attack success.”