© Shutterstock

The ubiquity of ransomware attacks -

In 2024, the concept of a ransomware attack is nothing new. Indeed, for as long as valuable information has been stored on computers, ransomware incidents have been occurring.

© Shutterstock

What happens in a ransomware attack -

For those not familiar, a ransomware attack is when cyber criminals hack into a computer system that holds valuable, and usually sensitive, data.

© Shutterstock

Huge amounts of money involved -

The hackers take control of the system and threaten to share or sell the data if the victim does not pay them a (normally enormous) amount of money.

© Getty Images

Attacks on schools -

While ransomware attacks are indeed old news, the type of victims that attackers are targeting does appear to be shifting. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of attacks on private schools.

© Shutterstock

Sensitive children's data -

In most cases, criminals hack into the school system and threaten to share sensitive data relating to the pupils on the dark web, if the school does not pay the ransom.

© Shutterstock

Recent case -

One of the biggest recent cases involved the Association of Independent Schools in New South Wales, Australia.

© Shutterstock

It started with a search -

The case came about when an employee of the school searched online for the education sector’s enterprise agreement.

© Getty Images

Falling for a fake site -

When she made the search, the top result was a fake site that had been sponsored so it would appear first in the search results.

© Shutterstock

Clicking the link -

The employee clicked on the link, and it took her to a ‘honey pot’ website, which was designed very cleverly to look like an online forum.

© Shutterstock

Downloading the file -

Once she was in the online forum, the employee downloaded a file that she believed was a copy of the enterprise agreement that had been shared by another user.

© Shutterstock

Malware file -

In fact, however, the file was malware, which, once downloaded, allowed the cyber criminals to have access to the school’s system for a period of three days.

© Shutterstock

ASD opinion -

According to the Australian Signal’s Directorate (ASD), in this case the access was not used to take over the school’s network.

© Getty Images

The attackers' intentions -

Rather, the ASD believes that the hackers planned on selling the access to another group of cyber criminals who, in turn, would use it for ransomware.

© Getty Images

Successful damage limitation -

Thankfully, the Association of Independent Schools managed to isolate the device and contain the issue within the space of two hours.

© Getty Images

Potentially catastrophic -

If they had not been alerted to the incident by the ASD, the consequences of the attack could have been catastrophic for the organization and the pupils to whom the data belongs.

© Getty Images

Lancaster attack -

Another recent attack happened in July 2024 at a school in Lancaster, England. It was the day before they were due to go on break for the holidays. IT staff noticed something peculiar.

© Shutterstock

Shutting down the system -

Upon noticing something was wrong, IT began to shut parts of the system down. When they realized something bigger was going on, they shut it down entirely.

© Shutterstock

Seeking advice -

Again, in this instance, the school was able to react very quickly, and within an hour they had experts on the phone giving them advice.

© Shutterstock

Rebuilding the system -

They had to take down the whole system and rebuild it from scratch with more extensive security measures in place. Thankfully, there was no lasting damage.

© Shutterstock

A professional job -

According to sources that were close to the event, it seemed the attack was perpetrated by professionals and that they wanted the school to pay a ransom.

© Getty Images

Protective measures -

So, what can schools do to protect themselves against ransomware attacks? Firstly, it is important to install robust backup systems so that data can be quickly recovered in the event of an attack.

© Getty Images

Regular audits -

Secondly, schools should conduct regular security audits. These can help identify weaknesses and updates needed for any systems that are vulnerable to exploitation.

© Getty Images

Anti-virus software -

It's also very important to use anti-malware and anti-virus software. This should be updated regularly to ensure that it functions properly.

© Getty Images

Training -

Staff and students should also receive training on data security and how to follow the best practices. This should include awareness about phishing attacks.

© Shutterstock

Role-based access -

When it comes to sensitive data, schools should introduce a role-based access control system. This will ensure that only authorized persons have access to critical data.

© Shutterstock

Password policy -

There should also be a strong password policy and, wherever possible, two-factor authentication should be used to prevent unauthorized access to data.

© Getty Images

Disaster recovery plan -

It is also imperative that schools implement a disaster recovery plan, so as to ensure that they can get back up and running again quickly if an attack were to happen.

© iStock

Cyber insurance -

Finally, schools should consider investing in cyber insurance policy. The upfront cost can be high, but it will quickly pay for itself if anything does go wrong.

Sources: (BBC) (CSO)

See also: How not to get scammed on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

© iStock