Do your homework to keep your school’s data safe

Every day, our schools are under attack by cyber criminals determined to cause disruption or steal information. Protecting staff and students from cybercrime is a key part of providing a safe and secure learning environment. But what are the risks and how can your school arm itself against them? 

Education and research is the #3 target for cybercrime 

Computers have been a vital part of learning for generations, but COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way schools and students interact with the internet. 

The number of devices being used for study purposes—workstations, laptops, tablets and smartphones—has exploded exponentially and staff and students are now connecting from multiple access points across multiple locations. And, of course, all these increased endpoints have generated an increase in the opportunities for cyber criminals to exploit potentially vulnerable targets, such as schools and students. 

In fact, education and research establishments were the third most popular target for cyber attackers in Australia in 2021, with an average of 3,943 attacks per organisation per week in the second half of the year, an increase of 17% on the previous six months.¹

That future is constantly changing and evolving, so the education they receive and the infrastructure that supports their schooling needs to evolve too. Invotec and Dell Technologies are at the forefront of the latest data management and data protection solutions aimed at the education sector, enabling you and your staff to provide every student with an outstanding start in life. 

Across education, the four most common types of attack are: 

Across education, the four most common types of attack are:
· DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks that disrupt the everyday running of the school
· Data Theft of sensitive personal information belonging to staff or students
· Financial gain from ransomware attacks or hacking into student fees portals
· Espionage attempts aimed at stealing intellectual properties.

Why are schools so vulnerable? 

Schools hold a wide range of information about staff and students, from educational facts and figures to identity, financial and home and health details, all of which can be valuable to cyber criminals. In addition to this mine of personal information available, there are several other reasons cyber criminals target schools and education establishments: 

· Data security is perceived to be significantly lower than other sectors such as corporate, business and government
· Network security is often overseen by teaching staff rather than IT professionals like Invotec
· School devices, the endpoints of your network, generate massive amounts of data and are used by a huge number of different people every day
· Students and parents trust the school to look after their data and are not as security conscious as they would be with personal devices.

So, what lesson should you take from all this?  

When you protect your devices and your network, you provide your students and teachers with a safe learning environment. 

How can Invotec and Dell Technologies help protect your school? 

For almost 20 years, Invotec has been a leading supplier of IT expertise and support for schools in Victoria, providing comprehensive endpoint security solutions designed to keep assets and students safe. In partnership with Dell Technologies, we ensure your security systems are always several steps ahead of any outside threat.  

We’re the experts in education data security with a proven track record and a blemish free report card, that’s why school administrators trust us to help secure their networks and endpoints by: 

· Preventing, detecting and mitigating threats
· Encrypting sensitive data 
· Securing data irrespective of point of access 
· Verifying end user credentials
· Providing real-time incident support 

Keep your data safe with the right expertise 

At Invotec, we leverage the latest technology and services to audit, recommend or implement an ASD Essential 8 compliance strategy to enhance your data security protection.  

Dell Technologies endpoint security prevents, detects and responds to cyber threats and attacks with AI, machine learning and easy-to-implement behavioural detection. 

Working together, we can deliver visibility across endpoints, networks and the cloud, giving you complete peace of mind as the guardian of your student’s critical data. 

Ensure your bases are covered with a security audit 

Technology is ever changing and the threats your school and students face are becoming more and more sophisticated. Knowing your exposure to risk is the first step to safeguarding your data and protecting your school and students. 

An Invotec Security Audit covers five main areas of concern: 

· User education: User security awareness includes educating and testing staff and students to help protect against cybercrimes
· Essential 8 maturity: 8 strategies developed by the ACSC to mitigate against a wide range of ongoing cyber threats
· IT policy assessment: Strong policies and procedures enable schools to incorporate security actions that are consistent, effective and efficient
· Cloud security: A comprehensive assessment of your cloud services so a risk-informed decision can be made about data suitability
· Modern Workplace security: A Zero Trust approach that supports staff and students to work securely and enables you to adapt to evolving threats and future disruptions

Get your FREE Security Audit today 

Protect the integrity of your school’s data and keep your students’ personal information safe with Invotec and Dell Technologies.