British Schools At Risk Of Cyber Attacks

Over three quarters (78 percent) of UK head teachers believe their school faces an increased risk of being exposed to a cyber incident in light of remote learning, according to a survey by Cantium Business Solutions and conducted by Censuswide.

The online survey covered the views of just over 500 UK headteachers, school IT professionals and teaching staff.

The survey  revealed that nearly four in ten (37 percent) of respondents, including school staff and IT professionals do not rank cyber security as a high priority. On a national level, this could mean that almost 12,000 schools are at greater risk from a cyber attack in 2022. It also found that two-thirds (66 percent) of UK schools surveyed claimed to have suffered a cyber-attack in the last 18-months. 

• Only 35 percent felt strongly that they were well prepared to protect their school against malicious activity in the future.

• Over a third (36%) of primary schools suffering a cyber security breach or attack in the past 12 months.

The most common type of cyber attacks for education providers was phishing, identified by 84% of primary schools (86% of secondary schools and 91% of further education colleges), which often involves trying to deceive  recipients into giving away their password or account details.

East of England At Risk

The survey suggests that secondary schools in the East of England are particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks - 84 percent of schools in the East of England claimed to have suffered a cyber incident in the past 18-months, compared to a nationwide average of 66 percent.

• Additionally, schools in the region felt their risk of a cyber incident had increased, with 55 percent for those in the East of England agreeing.

• Despite head teachers acknowledging the heighted exposure that remote and home learning brings with it, the survey showed that 46 percent of schools believe the cyber threat will not increase further in 2022.

Figures from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport indicate that 58% of Secondary Schools had a cyber breach or attack in 2020.

Gov.UK:       DCMS:     NWCRC:      EdTechnology:    FENews:     NetworkingPlus: 

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