The external threats of cyber security surveillance are growing faster than response capacity – on-campus technology

Research

Cyber ​​security surveys external threats are growing faster than they can handle.

• By Kristal Kuykendall
• 01/11/22

According to the new survey, most educational institutions have not improved their ability to detect cyber security – although attacks on schools have increased during the epidemic. This is according to the Seventh Sector Cyber ​​Security Survey released this morning by Solar Wind.

Cybersecurity experts and the U.S. Department of Education have warned of an increase in cyber attacks on schools and universities in recent months, and the October-K-12 cyber security law directs cyber security and infrastructure security agencies to identify hazards. And provide resources for schools to better protect their IT security. According to government computer news, from August 14 to September 12, 2021, educational institutions were targeted by more than 5.8 million malware attacks, or 63 percent of such attacks.

This year’s SolarWinds cyber security survey includes responses from more than 400 IT operators and security decision makers, including 200 federal, 100 state and local and 100 education responders, SolarWinds said.

“This year’s results show that IT security concerns are growing – mainly from the general hacking community and foreign governments – that the ability to identify and address such threats has not increased at the same rate, putting government sector organizations at risk,” said Brandon Shop. Vice President of SolarWinds Team for Product Strategy. But the information shows increased awareness and zero confidence as well as a commitment to invest in IT solutions and to embrace the best practices of cybersecurity listed in the Administration’s Cyber ​​Security Executive Order. It is through these measures that public sector organizations can improve the cyber security environment and address the growing external threats.

2021 Survey of Key Findings in the Education Sector

• Careless insiders (53%) are the biggest security threat in educational institutions, with the entire hacking community (49%) and foreign governments (25%).
  • Although 56 percent of all government sector respondents say that foreign governments have increased their concerns since 2020, only 25 percent of education respondents say that foreign governments are at risk.
• When asked about certain security breaches, the government sector has seen a significant increase in the number of phishing software (66%), malware (65%) and phishing (63%) compared to last year.
• Due to the lack of training (40%), low budget and inputs (37%), and the wider perimeter (32%) remote workloads, the public sector is facing security challenges.
  • Educational respondents are struggling to identify the root causes of security issues, which impedes their ability to detect and correct such threats.
  • Sixty percent of respondents said the identification time and resolution time were the same or worse between 2020 and 2021.
• Government sector respondents point out that improving investigative and capacity building capabilities, as well as reducing barriers to the exchange of information between the public and private sectors, are key factors in complying with cyber security enforcement.
  • Among regional, local, and educational organizations, 88% are more likely to follow cyber security practices and practices from a cyber security executive, including 100% of respondents in K-12 schools and 84% of higher education institutions.

Visit the SolarWinds website for the full report.