Report Finds Increase in Data Breaches in Education and Offers Tips to Help Prevent Them

Report Finds Increase in Data Breaches in Education and Offers Tips to Help Prevent Them
(Image credit: THINKSTOCK/A-IMAGE)

Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) provides a comprehensive view of global cybersecurity from an analysis of more than 53,000 cybersecurity incidents and over 2,300 data breaches from over 65 countries. Key findings in the education sector include:

70 percent of all cyber incidents in education were financially motivated.
◗ Social engineering targeting personal information, specifically around W-2 scams, remains high.
◗ Highly sensitive research is also at risk, with 20 percent of attacks motivated by espionage.
12 percent of attacks were motivated by “fun” rather than financial gain.
◗ Education continues to face denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.
79 percent of threat actors were external, and 21 percent were internal.

Proactive steps to take now include:
◗ Stay vigilant.
◗ Train staff to spot the warning signs.
◗ Keep data on a “need to know” basis.
◗ Patch promptly.
◗ Encrypt sensitive data.
◗ Use two-factor authentication.
◗ Don’t forget physical security.

For more go to www.techlearning.com/june18