How Educational Institutions can Boost Cybersecurity

Hackers are targeting school data because it’s shared and technology keeps changing.

Brad from TurnOnVPN shares how schools can protect themselves from hackers and keep student data and school data safe.

Every educational institution, whether public or private, needs strong cybersecurity. In many schools, the concept of cybersecurity for data is new. 
For one, some schools are just starting to cross over to digital learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This factor has increased the reliance on the internet for studies. Apart from that, schools store data about students ranging from health information to report cards.

Hackers try to get their hands on all types of data for sale. This is why there have been increased cyber-attacks in the education sector. What’s worse, schools are finding it difficult to keep pace with the ever-changing cybersecurity updates.

These cybercriminals use a variety of attacks to get their hands on data. Phishing, malware, and Wi-Fi attacks are all part of techniques used by these malicious actors.

Boosting Cybersecurity for your School

• Train Employees Against Cyber-attacks

Since ignorance is the easiest way for hackers to lay their hands on student data, you need to combat it. Every professional that has access to your school’s network or database should be trained.

If your school has a large budget, you can hire tech instructors to set up seminars. If your school’s finances are not so high, you can print out cybersecurity tips for users on the network.

• Setup Two-Factor Authentication

If you set up two-factor authentication on your school’s network, it’ll be harder for cybercriminals to breach the database even when they have the login credentials. Two-factor authentication typically requires an additional level of confirmation before login access can be granted.
This way, you can effectively stop hackers even after details get phished from a network user.

• Encourage students to use a VPN

Free Wi-Fi networks are breached all the time and this includes school Wi-Fi. Once this happens, thousands of students can have their information exposed to a hacker.

When students, however, utilize a Virtual Private Network for a Wi-Fi connection, they become protected. A VPN does this by establishing a secure tunnel for communication. This tunnel facilitates the encryption of data passing through it.

Conclusion
Hackers are starting to attack the educational sector for data since institutions are easy targets. They use a variety of techniques like phishing and Wi-Fi hacks. To protect your school’s data, you can take measures like multi-factor authentication, using a VPN, and employee training.

The author

Brad Smith

Brad Smith is a technology expert at TurnOnVPN, a non-profit promoting a safe and free internet for all. He writes about his dream for a free internet and unravels the horror behind big techs.