Cybersecurity is a critical concern for organisations across all industries, and schools are no exception. 

Let’s explore why schools need additional safeguards and how Radical Cloud Solutions can help with our comprehensive cybersecurity solutions.

The Rise of Cybercrime

Cybercrime is on the rise, and no industry is immune. 

Acronis reports that “AI-enhanced phishing affected over 90% of organisations and contributed to a 222% surge in email attacks in 2023.”

In 2022, 14 schools in the UK were targeted by hackers and children’s special educational needs and disabilities, pupil passport scans, staff pay scales and contract details were leaked.

In the Acronis End-of-Year Cyberthreats Report they also revealed that the emergence of “quishing,” a new form of phishing using QR codes, poses new challenges, as QR code-based attacks are harder to detect. Recent data reveals that one out of eight emails containing QR codes is malicious, with 15% of all QR code-containing emails being quishing attacks in the second half of 2023.

Schools and universities are often viewed as soft targets because of the vast numbers of devices connecting to their systems and their lack of investment in their cybersecurity, putting large amounts of sensitive personal and research data at risk.

From ransomware and phishing scams to data breaches and account takeovers, schools face a multitude of threats that can have devastating consequences.

The Importance of Cyber Protection for Schools

Schools store a vast amount of sensitive information about staff, students, and their parents, including student records, financial data and confidential documents. A single cyber attack can disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data and damage the reputation of the school.

Additionally, with millions of students learning through technology, whether in hybrid, remote, or traditional classroom environments schools must ensure the security and privacy of their students and staff. Ensuring the security of their devices is essential for both students’ learning experiences and teachers’ work to prevent disruptions to the educational process.

The Solution

Radical Cloud Solutions offers a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions designed to protect schools from a wide range of cyber threats. 

• Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud

Our flagship product, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, keeps your data protected, with security, backup, disaster recovery, automation and management seamlessly integrated in one simple platform.

While it is suitable for personal at home cyber protection It also offers robust cyberthreat protection and unparalleled backup and recovery capabilities for enterprises – multi-site, multi-generational and industrial IT systems.

• Antivirus: Detects and removes viruses, spyware, and other malicious software to keep school devices and data safe.
• Backup and Recovery: Automatically backs up critical data and ensures quick recovery in the event of a cyber attack or data loss.
• Centralised Administration and Monitoring: Provides a centralised dashboard for easy management and real-time monitoring of the school’s cybersecurity posture.
• Endpoint Protection: Protects devices connected to the school network from malware, ransomware, and other cyber threats.

Acronis offers a backup solution tailored for Google Workspace. Acronis Backup for Google Workspace provides regular backups of your Google Workspace data, ensuring swift restoration and minimal downtime. It’s a comprehensive solution designed to safeguard data within Gmail, GDrive, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar. Enhance your data protection and ensure seamless access, even during downtime.

• RADMARC

In addition to Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, we also offer RADMARC, a domain security solution designed to protect schools from email impersonation and phishing attempts. 

RADMARC is a domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance protocol that uses advanced email authentication protocols to verify the authenticity of incoming emails and protect against threats to business email, phishing and spoofing.

• RADSPY

RADSPY is another solution offered by Radical Cloud Solutions, providing data protection to prevent account takeover and fraud. 

By monitoring for suspicious activity and unauthorised access, RADSPY helps schools detect and mitigate potential security threats before they escalate. It helps identify legitimate users vs. potential criminals using stolen information in order to prevent account takeover that leads to ransomware.

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In conclusion, schools need to take cybersecurity seriously to protect their students, staff, and sensitive data from cyber threats. With a comprehensive cybersecurity solution, schools can rest assured that they are taking the necessary steps to protect their students, staff, and sensitive data from cyber threats.

If you’re interested in learning more, get in touch today. We’d be happy to discuss our offerings with you and your team – [email protected]