Equifax Breach Reflects Growing Threat Against Schools

(from The Bolton Blog) Independent schools should see warning signs in the recent news involving the potential theft of personal information from 143 million people through the Equifax credit-reporting agency. The scope and breadth of that breach, while unusual, runs parallel with a growing list of cyberattacks against schools as well — at least 673 in the U.S. alone since 2005, affecting more than 10.5 million records. The switch by many schools to cloud-based applications has magnified potential vulnerabilities on some levels, even as ransomware and email scams continue.

To mitigate their exposure, schools are advised to take steps including ensuring all digital points of entry are protected with regularly updated antivirus software, firewalls and similar security measures. They should also conduct risk assessments, determine and limit who has access to data, encrypt information, track portable devices and take other steps toward taking a campus-wide defensive stand.

Learn more at The Bolton Blog.

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