Data Breaches and Schools: What You Should Know

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By Ben Reed, Sr. Technical Content Strategist and Sales Engineer

The ongoing series of high-profile data breaches poses two important issues: How are they happening? And is my business at risk?

Educational institutions should be asking the same questions.

The short answer is yes, your school is at risk.

Not only is your school at risk; so’s your school’s financial health. According to the “2016 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis,” from the Ponemon Institute, the average cost per lost or stolen record in education is $246. That’s the second highest of all industries. And a breach doesn’t just have monetary impact; it can also affect an institution’s reputation.

According to the Ponemon Institute, data breaches can be broken down into three separate categories: IT and business process failures, human error, and malicious attacks.

You may surprised to learn that one in four breaches can be attributed to human error. These lapses can range from someone leaving their computer unlocked to sharing passwords. That’s why, in addition to having an effective security solution in place, every educational institution needs regular security training for everyone from admins to professors. 

Overall, your best bet is to implement a multilayered security strategy that can prevent, detect, and eradicate threats as well as protecting your data, systems, and users.

Read this tech brief to learn how data breaches occur, why they’re on the rise, and what steps to take now to protect your school.