Indian education sector faces unprecedented surge in cyberattacks!

The Check Point’s report points out that FakeUpdates, Qbot, and Formbook are the most common malware in India, with 54% of attacks coming through email. Of these, 58% involve .exe files.

As per the recent Threat Intelligence Report for the last 6 months, Check Point Software Threat Intelligence has revealed a startling increase in cyberattacks on the Indian education sector, with 8,195 attacks per week, more than double the global average of 3,355. After the education sector, the other most attacked industries were healthcare with 7,982 weekly attacks per organization, followed by Government/Military sector experiencing 4,590 attacks and the Consulting sector facing 4177 weekly attacks per organization.

In the past six months, organizations in India have faced an average of 3,244 cyberattacks each week, nearly double the global average of 1,657 attacks per organization. This shows how vulnerable Indian organizations are to rising cyber threats. The most common malware in India includes four botnets, one information stealer (Formbook), and one downloader (FakeUpdates).

Sundar Balasubramanian, Managing Director for India and SAARC at Check Point Software Technologies, noted that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting key sectors in India, especially those with large amounts of personal data, like education. With the rise of Gen AI, these threats are expected to worsen, especially as phishing and social engineering attacks increase. The growing number of attacks highlights the urgent need for stronger cybersecurity measures, including better defenses and constant monitoring, to protect sensitive data and ensure smooth operations.

The rise in cyberattacks is mainly due to the quick move to remote learning during COVID-19 and the ongoing shift to digital education. Schools and universities in India are storing large amounts of sensitive student information, such as personal, academic, and financial details. This makes them attractive targets for cybercriminals. As online learning platforms become more common, the digital exposure of these institutions grows, increasing the risk of data breaches. Hackers are taking advantage of weak cybersecurity in educational institutions to steal personal information, which is often sold on the Dark Web.