From sectrio.com
Over the last two months, hackers have stepped up attacks on academic institutions and students thereby opening a new frontier in the battle against cybercrime. Rising attacks on educational institutions could have multiple security and risk implications for the overall security of everything connected and beyond.
Implications of attacks on educational institutions:
- New variants of malware and breach tactics are being tested by bad actors through these attacks
- The ransom paid by target institutions will be used by these hackers to develop new and more potent malware
- Compromised systems in schools and colleges could be used by hacker groups to launch attacks on third parties (they could also be converted into bots). Such systems could become sources for large DDoS attacks
- Hackers will leak data stolen from these institutions and even use the data to scout for new targets
- Such attacks could also be connected with other forms of cybercrime which could have dangerous implications
- There could be yet unknown reasons for targeting such institutions