Cyber security for schools, colleges, academies and MATs – new tools launched
Schools, colleges, academies and MATs are under increasing pressure from the government and their stakeholders to ensure their cyber security is in good shape. That’s why we’ve launched a range of cyber security products designed to help the education sector improve its resilience and protect systems and data from cyber attack.
Why is cyber security important for schools, colleges, academies & MATs?
The government has recently released guidance around internal scrutiny in academy trusts, which
“Aims to provide [MATs] with suggestions as to how they can implement internal scrutiny / audit arrangements that meet the requirements of the Academies Financial Handbook (AFH). It also aims to help them to better discharge their responsibilities for ensuring effective stewardship and oversight of their organisation, as well as an adequate governance and control environment, and to provide them with a medium for self-reflection.”
Schools, colleges, academies and MATs are responsible for protecting the sensitive data of vulnerable young people, so it’s vital that appropriate measures are in place to protect it. If for any reason they are unable to operate due to a cyber attack, the negative impact could be significant – disruption to systems and networks can be expensive to fix (and potentially result in fines), stop them from being able to operate, compromise safeguarding and be damaging to their reputation.
How likely is it that you’ll be hit with a cyber attack?
The education sector was struck by more than 70 ransomware attacks during the pandemic alone and in March, the NCSC revealed that schools had lost financial records, students’ coursework and Covid-19 testing data during a spike in cyber attacks targeting the sector.
One in five schools and colleges have fallen victim to cyber crime, according to research from specialist insurer Ecclesiastical.
Roz Woodward, Securious Cofounder and CEO, comments:
“The bottom line is that cyber criminals are opportunists. They look for easy targets, so any school, college, academy or MAT that has not got appropriate measures in place to protect its systems and data is in a dangerous position.
That’s why we’ve launched a range of cyber security products for schools, colleges, academies and MATs. It can be hard to know where to start, so we’ve tailored our services to meet the needs of the education sector, to help them get moving and improve their cyber security.”
Products include an external review (or cyber security audit), specialist penetration testing, Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus, and staff cyber security awareness training.
Interested?
If you’d like to speak to a member of our team about getting your cyber security in good shape, fill in the contact form below and one of our experts will be in touch.