The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued an alert to education institutions following a spike in ransomware attacks in the education sector, as cyber criminals exploit the return to school for their next big opportunity. 

Ransomware attacks against education establishments have spiked in August this year, causing varying levels of disruption amongst schools and colleges as the new term starts; from limited access to systems to full network wide lock downs.

Depending on the level of security the education establishments has in place, and the organisations’ levels of resilience, those with robust security, back-up and recovery, experienced minimal disruption. However, for those schools and colleges who have struggled to address this area, for some, it has taken weeks for services to return to normal and for others it could take months.

Ransomware attacks typically involve the encryption of an organisation’s data by cyber criminals, making it impossible to access your data, and who then demand money in exchange for its recovery. This can affect access to computer networks as well as services including telephone systems, websites, servers and on site data storage. Disruption to running your school can be catastrophic.

To minimise disruption in this increasingly threat prevalent world, The NCSC is urging schools and MATs to ensure their data is backed up, with copies held off-site or in a secure cloud environment. Using reputable, secure, cloud back-up and recovery, such as Redstor’s high security service supplied by Schools Broadband, is becoming increasingly popular amongst schools and MATs.

The Solution 

Over 12,000 schools now gain peace of mind with the Redstor backup and recovery service; it prevents any downtime resulting from a successful Ransomware attack, by enabling instant cloud access to your lost data.  It’s also more cost-effective and reliable than an on-site solution. At the click of a button your users can be up and running instantly, while your data restores in the background.

The key to preventing a data disaster as a result of a successful cyberattack is to ensure your school or MAT has the right digital infrastructure in place at the outset, with cloud-based layered security, recovery and back-up. Speak to us now or visit our security and backup web pages for more information. Don’t delay, do it today.

NCSC guidance on mitigating malware and ransomware attacks 

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