‘Online classes‘s proximity to cyber attacks’: Report

The Indian education sector has been most vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The global education and training market both online and offline is estimated to reach USD 7.3 trillion by 2025. According to a survey, India is the most vulnerable to cyber threats to educational institutions and online platforms followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Brazil.

The use of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, digitization of education, and the popularity of online learning platforms are important triggers that widened the attack surface. According to the research, Cyber Threats Targeting the Global Education Industry data suggests a 20% rise in cyber threats to the global education sector in the first three months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

The Threat Research and Information Analytics Division of cloudSEK, a Singapore-based AI-driven Digital Risk Management Enterprise, compiled the research. Thousands of sources are scoured by CloudSEK’s XVigil platform to detect cyber risks, data leaks, brand threats, and identity thefts. ‘Last year, 58 percent of the threats reported in Asia and the Pacific were directed against Indian or India-based educational institutions and internet platforms’.
The goal of Indonesia was a distant second. The global education and training market both online and offline is estimated to reach USD 7.3 trillion by 2025.

According to Darshit Ashara, Principal Threat Researcher at CloudSEK, ‘The burgeoning education technology business, population growth, and increased digital penetration in developing countries all contribute to this optimistic forecast’. As a result, it’s no surprise that fraudsters are targeting businesses and institutions in the industry. Remote learning adoption by schools, universities, and related entities to combat the disruption caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic large-scale dig of educational content material, student data, and documents; and online learning platforms catering to the needs of everyone from preschool children to retired professionals are among the reasons cited in the report as driving the trend.