That may sound dark and dramatic, but recognizing the severity of cyberattacks is essential today. After all, cyberattacks on campuses can affect the staff, students, and their families alike.
For example, a cybercriminal may attack the bursar’s office to access financial information. This can ultimately wreak havoc on any college, and it can cause long-lasting damage. Protecting sensitive personal information is just as important, and everyone is vulnerable to campus cyberattacks.
The whole reason that cybersecurity is such a good career is that everyone is vulnerable to cyberattacks, so experts are always needed. That’s especially true when businesses and schools are targeted just as much as everyday Internet users.
Follow along as we explore how Internet safety for campus staff is more important than ever.
Knowing What to Look for is the First Step
Cyber threats are much like viral infections in that they come in many shapes and sizes, and they often spread quickly. Even frivolously opening an email can lead to a large information breach that affects many people on campus. You can avoid this heartache if you understand the most common cyber-attacks that threaten campus staff, like:
Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware is more than just a cyber-attack: it’s a way to terrorize campuses. Cybercriminals use ransomware to intimidate their victims into paying them. They typically trick their victims into clicking a link that installs ransomware onto their devices.
From there, they can access your personal and financial information. Upon accessing your information, they may attempt to blackmail or intimidate you. This is quite dangerous on campuses, as the staff computers often hold sensitive information, whether it be financial or otherwise.
They may even threaten to lock campus staff out of their PCs until they get the money they requested. Understandably, this is what many campus administrators and staff members fear the most. This is a gross form of extortion, which campus staff can avoid by being careful.
Data Breaches
Naturally, college campuses store and share much more data than individuals, families, and small businesses. Cybercriminals know this and often try to exploit weak points in campus cybersecurity. It’s much easier for outsiders to access and compromise this data than you may think.
Hackers can access everything from payment information and dormitory logs to academic reports. Whether the information is stolen or leaked, this type of compromise can be devastating. For example, the hacker may leak payment information online. Hackers can even go into the system and change the results of tests.
Compromising such data can leave campus staff and students alike feeling demoralized. After all, if they can access that information, they can also access your personal information. For example, they may pull a teacher’s email address and password, change it, and use the account for purchases and subscriptions.
Phishing
Phishing is among the most common cyber threats. It typically starts with a fraudulent text message or email that features a link. In some cases, there is no link, and they are baiting you to respond to them.
Upon responding or clicking the link, you unknowingly install malware onto your computer. They can then access information on your network or even take over your computer. This lets them steal information, share information, and shut your computer down.
Hackers can use this information for personal benefit, or they can sell it. This is a big part of the underground world of cybercrime. People pay big money for information related to organizations that handle a lot of money, such as universities. Nobody who buys such illegal information has good intentions.
How to Improve Campus Cybersecurity
The stress, financial hardships, and trust issues that come with cyberattacks aren’t worth the trouble. The only way to avoid this heartache is to get proactive and make sure everyone on campus is on the same page. All it takes is one weak link to let a cyberattack slip through the cracks. However, you can work wonders to make campus jobs safer if you take a few key steps, such as:.
Create a Response Plan
Cyber-attacks can go from bad to worse if you don’t react quickly enough. That’s why a campus-wide response plan is essential to avoid making things worse. First, you must contact the IT department, as they can likely help assess the severity of the attack.
From there, you must determine what kind of information was stolen, as this can determine your next action. Next, it’s important to disconnect the infected computers and systems. That includes disabling the Wi-Fi and cellular data connections for them.
That’s because malware can quickly spread between computers and cause plenty of damage. You can also restore infected systems to factory settings to eliminate the malware. No matter what the response plan is, it’s important to make sure the whole staff is on board.
Educate the Staff
There’s a good chance that many people on the campus staff aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of cyber threats. That is completely understandable, but it also leaves them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Ideally, each member of the staff should have at least a basic understanding of common cyber threats.
Explain malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks to give them an idea of what to look out for. It’s also important to update your staff and provide new information as the world of cyberattacks continues to evolve. It’s worth hiring an outside cybersecurity firm to educate the staff about what to look for.
This information is also important for students who may unknowingly spread phishing scams among their peers. Malware can spread like wildfire in a matter of minutes if nobody can spot the red flags.
Invest in Software
Don’t be afraid to spend money on beefing up cybersecurity on campus. The money it costs to update your computers and networks and buy security software is money well spent. After all, a ransomware attack can cost you a fortune and leave your staff demoralized.
It’s also a great idea to set up an authentication system to make your staff verify their information when they log in. However, the software may do the heavy lifting, but the staff must also be responsible. For example, you can encourage them to regularly change their passwords.
Cybersecurity is a Matter of Campus Safety
It’s hard to feel comfortable on campus if you feel vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is true whether you’re part of campus staff or you’re enrolled in classes. Campus staff are susceptible to cyberattacks that can affect them financially and emotionally.
Unfortunately, cybercriminals seem to get more creative with each passing year. The violation of having your information stolen, shared, or held ransom can take a heavy emotional toll on anyone. It’s up to academic institutions to enforce cybersecurity amongst their staff.
Otherwise, there’s no way to ensure that one administrator won’t fall victim to a cyberattack. All it takes is one cyberattack for it to spread throughout a campus. That’s why schools must make efforts and spend the money to protect their networks, staff, and students.
