Colleges and universities are increasingly difficult to get into, at least from a student’s perspective. But cybercriminals feel differently, as higher education institutions have been a common target for targeted ransomware attacks in recent months.
In fact, more than 1,000 schools in the United States fell victim to ransomware attacks over the past year alone. Institutions like Austin Peay State University, which recently experienced a cyberattack, have been forced to shut down their systems and temporarily suspend operations as a result of these attacks — causing chaos and major disruption. In a worst case scenario, Lincoln College announced they were forced to permanently shut down the 157-year-old university in part due to a ransomware attack.