Security News > 2021 > August > Cybercriminals are holding schools ransom for billions and some are paying up
"Many schools cannot operate without their computer systems, and some schools have had to cancel classes due to ransomware attacks," said Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate at Comparitech.
"Resolving a ransomware attack without paying the ransom takes about two weeks on average, which is far too long for kids to be out of school. So ransomware creates urgency that makes schools more likely to pay up."
While total attacks on education centers appear to be on the decline, at the same time, these attacks are impacting a greater number of students with many more schools potentially impacted.
As Bischoff points out in the report, this year-over-year dropoff "Appears to have been in favor of larger, more targeted attacks on bigger school districts with higher budgets and larger numbers of students." So, why are cybercriminals choosing to focus on schools and where are these systems particularly vulnerable?
As Bischoff points out in the report, "Only a handful of providers publicly release" these data as these organizations "Understandably" do not want to "Discuss ransom amounts or whether they have paid these as it may incentivize further attacks." That said, the report said the estimated cost of these education sector ransomware attacks is valued at $6.62 billion in 2020 with hackers receiving "At least" $1.9 million in payouts.
"Despite the rise of ransomware's prominence in the news, the number of ransomware attacks against schools actually decreased from 2019 to 2020," Biscoff said.