Remote learning is now an inevitable reality for academic institutions. Even before the pandemic, remote learning was on the rise. The pandemic has only made that trend more pervasive and dominant across institutions, most notably among the public schools. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), a federally funded threat intelligence and cybersecurity advisory organization, recorded a 19% increase in cyberattacks targeting K-12 schools in the 2019-2020 school year.

Social engineering is an insidious way of getting "insider access" into an organization's network and data. Threat actors use it to gain sweeping access to carry out sophisticated attacks while evading detection. This "insider" leeway of social engineering makes it an alarming threat that cybercriminals are routinely exploiting now more than ever.

October is a month that generates much buzz amongst the cybersecurity community. It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) – a time when security professionals work around the clock to raise awareness of growing cyber risks amongst general user communities.

While there’s no real way to prevent them all, understanding vulnerabilities, common types of cyberattacks and how to prevent them can help college and university leaders prioritize their security strategies to help keep institutional data and students safe.

Ransomware has become an annual event for many organizations, costing them millions in lost productivity and revenue. While there have been some notable successes in fighting off this threat, the industry as a whole must continue strengthening its resolve in order to safeguard against future attacks. Part of this can come down to recognizing the role that users and employees play in fighting off these attacks and providing them with info and tools they need to help reduce risks.