Ransomware events targeting colleges and universities doubled from 2019 to 2020 according to one recent study, while another 2021 report indicates that the average cost of such an attack jumped from US$115,123 in 2019 to $312,493 in 2020—a staggering 171% increase. When we layer reputational costs on top of the concrete financial implications of a cybersecurity breach, the scale of risk comes into even sharper focus. It’s a critical Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) issue that can only be solved through dedicated investment in specialised cybersecurity support. Yet for too many higher education institutions, cybersecurity continues to languish low on the list of organisational priorities.
Cybersecurity is no longer a localised ‘IT issue’
For most colleges and universities, particularly those of small- to medium-scale, cybersecurity has long been viewed as an IT infrastructure challenge best managed tactically by an internal technology team. Yet such teams, however skilled, are rarely versed in the specialised practices required to combat today’s sophisticated threats, nor are they typically funded at the level required for effective, long term, enterprise-scale…
