The reasons for this are fairly simple
A number of education ransomware alerts have been published by the National Cyber Security Centre throughout 2020 and 2021, and more are expected over the coming year.
1000s of schools have been attacked over the past few years and many have resulted in long term problems for the organisations affected, including the staff, students, and parents. Whilst the rise in attacks was blamed partly on the pandemic and a rise in remote learning, the risk to schools will persist until they are provided with the tools to fight back. And these attacks are happening right now in our region. In the summer of 2021, a ransomware attack against schools in Kent actually caused several of them to close for several days whilst the data breach was resolved.
The only way to really know is to test your site.
But do you really want to know?
Nothing bad has happened so far and if you don’t know about it then surely you can’t be guilty of not fixing it?
Ask yourself these questions:
The ECRC offers affordable web application vulnerability assessments. We work with university students who conduct the testing and provides you with a detailed report, but explained in plain English, so you understand what the risks are and what you need to do to fix them. Find out more here. We will provide a no obligation quote so you can see just how affordable this testing can be.
The impact of a successful attack against your website or network can be catastrophic and lead to website downtime, loss of business and loss of reputation. In the worst cases it can lead to the closure of the business altogether. But all is not lost.
YES! It is fully understood that schools are both vulnerable to attack, and that they have limited budgets to pay to strengthen their resilience. The good news is that there are loads of free tools and guides specifically aimed at the education sector.
Look at the free tools and guidance available on the ECRC site Education & Resources at the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre (ecrcentre.co.uk). All of the below are free and fully supported by the National Cyber Security Centre as well as the ECRC
If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber-attack (in progress), please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 immediately. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please report online to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. You can report cybercrime online at any time using the online reporting tool, which will guide you through simple questions to identify what has happened. Action Fraud advisors can also provide the help, support, and advice you need.
Alternatively, you can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2
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