Protect your data and ensure a safe learning environment.

Recent research highlights a growing cyber threat to schools and colleges across the UK. Education-al institutions are falling prey to cybercriminals more and more often - and are currently experi-encing significantly more cyber security incidents than the average UK business.

Frequency, scale and impact

The available figures suggest that attacks on schools and colleges may have risen by as much as 44% during 2022 alone, and the trend has continued upwards since then. 

Early in 2023, 14 UK schools were hit by a single hacking group known as Vice Society. This resulted in around 500GB of confidential data being made public. 

An annual survey carried out in summer 2023 found that 80% of schools and colleges had faced at-tempted ransomware attacks in the preceding year, a sharp increase from the previous year’s equivalent figure of 60%.

The 2023 Cyber Security Breaches Survey showed that 41% of primary schools, 63% of secondary schools, and 85% of higher education institutions had identified breaches or attacks within the pre-ceding 12 months. This compares with just 32% of other businesses.

Particularly vulnerable

Despite not being the wealthiest of targets, schools are particularly vulnerable to cybercriminals. Budgetary constraints and IT security resourcing challenges make educational establishment attrac-tive targets for opportunistic cybercriminals. As does the fact that schools and colleges hold a great deal of sensitive data. This increases the pressure on educators to protect the personal records and financial information they hold from unauthorised access.

Counting the cost

Aside from their financial impact, such attacks can cause a range of other harms. These include disruption to your ability to deliver services, and serious reputational harm. Sensitive data on stu-dents and staff could fall into the wrong hands. And, again, if that data relates to pupils with high-profile parents, the problem is all the worse. An attack could also compromise your ability to safe-guard young people in your care - for example, if door entry systems went off line, or if you were unable to access digital records.

Keeping schools safe - at an affordable price

At Solis, we’ve seen close-up just how devastating cyber attacks can be for educators. So, in recognition of the societally important role you play, we’ve decided to offer you our enterprise-grade managed detection and response (MDR) service at an exclusively discounted rate. We’ve leveraged our market buying power to negotiate special rates. That means we can now offer you the same cutting-edge MDR services we offer our commercial clients — at around half the cost.

Benefits of enhanced cyber security

Our MDR service help schools and universities safeguard student records, financial information, and intellectual property against unauthorised access or theft. This not only enhances resilience but also minimises disruption to teaching and administrative functions in the event of an attack. Our service also supports full compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR and FERPA, helping schools avoid costly penalties and reputational damage.

Why Solis is the right choice

With an established track record in the education sector, Solis understands the unique security challenges schools and universities face. Our advanced cyber security solution, backed by our 24/7 in house response teams, monitors and identifies suspicious activity 24/7, taking effective action to clean up threats before attacks escalate.

With cyber threats on the rise, there’s no time to lose. Schools and colleges need to take immediate proactive measures to protect themselves and ensure a safe and secure learning environment for students and staff alike. We can help!

Contact us today at enquiries.uk@solissecurity.com  to find out more about this offer - or to request a FREE security review that will help you understand what more you could be doing to keep your educational institution safe.