SCHOOL NEEDS TO KNOWABOUT CYBERPROTECTION.

FIVE THINGS YOUR

As malware grows at an alarming rate, IT budgets are freezing and shrinking. Educational institutions are often forced into the precarious position of balancing adequate security with limited, available resources. To make matters worse, new technology and teaching models that rely on online research conducted in the classroom make your system vulnerable to infection at every turn.

Kaspersky Lab has compiled this eBook to provide you with five simple facts to consider when developing cyberprotection practices for your network, your school, and your student body.

Introduction

1. Malware Threats Are Growing Top concerns of the IT function4

It’s shocking when you see the amount of malware that can make your school and student data vulnerable. During 2013 and 2014, Kaspersky Lab detected approximately 315,000 malicious samples each day.1 According to conservative estimates, there was a 20% increase in data breaches from 2013 to 2014, including additional incidents in the educational sector.2 These threats range from spam-delivered viruses that slow down your computers to complex malware that makes your entire IT infrastructure vulnerable to major data breaches.

According to Kaspersky Lab’s 2014 Security Bulletin, the proportion of spam in email flows was 66.76%.3 With so many threats coming from a variety of sources, it’s critical that schools keep their protection updated often, many times per day, to ensure they have the latest protection and to prevent productivity gaps as updates occur.

As the prevalence of malware grows, so does awareness of the need for adequate cybersecurity.

1,4 B2B International and Kaspersky Lab, “IT Security Threats and Data Breaches,” October, 20142 Business to Community, “The State of US Data Breaches,” 20143 SecureList, “Kaspersky Security Bulletin. Spam in 2014,” https://securelist.com/analysis/69225/ kaspersky-security-bulletin-spam-in-2014/

2. Schools Have Juicy Data

Schools are sitting on a plethora of data that’s veritable junk food for cybercriminals. There’s charitable donor information, credit card and financial aid data, earnings history, birthdates, social security numbers, students’ academic records, etc. School employees are also at risk.

In September 2014, the employees of the Provo, Utah City School District were notified of a phishing attack that allowed access to 1400 staff email accounts.5 While the motives of this data breach are unclear, those employees’ personal data is now vulnerable. Cybercrime isn’t limited to primary and secondary schools. In fact, 30 colleges and universities experienced data breaches in 2014. Five of the thirty schools actually had larger data breaches than the notorious Sony hack.6 Clearly, identity information has value in the cybercriminal ecosystem.

5 Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, October, 2014

6 Huffpost College, “5 Colleges With Data Breaches Larger Than Sony’s in 2014,” March, 2015

Children’s social security numbers (SSNs) are extremely valuable. An identity thief can use a child’s SSN and apply for credit, rental property, or a job. Thieves know that the SSN is valid, less likely to be observed for misuse and, unfortunately, few tools are available to safeguard children’s SSNs. A thief will manipulate the credit application process and combine true SSNs with other personally identifiable information (PII) to create a new, fraudulent identity.

In addition to sensitive student data, educational institutions also keep banking information, employee payroll data, and even vendor accounts. Since their security protection tends to be significantly less than the private sector, it’s not a wonder that they are vulnerable targets. For this reason, the frequency of cyberattacks in the educational sector is growing. Since the criminals target the weakest endpoints of the network, it’s critical that schools have adequate endpoint protection to protect against data and financial loss.

3. USBs Can Be Sticky

Personal devices don’t always have to be PCs, smartphones, or tablets. Nefarious individuals can use something as small as a USB storage stick as a weapon of cybercrime. Whether it’s a USB flash drive or another USB device that stores data such as a digital camera, MP3 player, gaming device, or a cell phone, connecting an infected USB drive to your computer can wreak havoc not only on your individual computer, but on the larger network to which it’s connected.

According to cybersecurity experts at Kaspersky Lab, about 30% of malware infections are spread via removable media like USB sticks and SD cards.7

Adequate endpoint protection is paramount to USB safety. The USB drive is the cube-dweller’s effective method of moving data back and forth without IT’s involvement. Some companies address this problem by simply using device control and killing

the port, but in education, this method won’t work. Students and staff need to input work and students often collaborate in groups and the primary method of sharing is the USB device. As the USB devices on the market continue to grow in capacity, users become less likely to scan them because of the length of time it takes to perform the operation. One measure of protection is to force a scan on the device before data can be accessed.

7 Kaspersky Lab Daily, USB Hygiene, August 2013

4. Social Media Mania Is Spreading

Whether your students and staff have Macs or PCs, social media is the common denominator of all users. These digital watering holes are the destination of choice where nearly everyone—regardless of background, age, or role—gathers together to share ideas, events, emotions, experiences, research and schoolwork.

Social media is prime feeding ground for cybercriminals. While email will always be a key method of malware distribution, the ubiquitous acceptance and click-driven dashboards of social media sites make it a warm and inviting spot for cybercriminals. There are primarily two tactics used to exploit online social networks. Cybercriminals can create code to gain access or install unwanted software on your computer or mobile devices. They can also become social engineers who manipulate people through social interactions (in person, over the phone, or in writing).

Academic institutions are heavily at risk from the perils of social media. Some schools have policies that completely block access to social media on the network, which may be an extreme solution. Even if the students and instructors don’t click on a bad link while on the network, their mobile device may download malware while using Facebook or another social media site at home and is now infected.

SECURITY PERIMETER BEFORE SOCIAL MEDIA AND NOW

5. Vulnerability Is Much More Costly than Protection

Benjamin Franklin said “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Although IT budgets in the education sector aren’t getting any bigger (and in some cases, they’re shrinking), the cost of fixing or replacing an infected system is a lot more expensive than the price of preventative cyberprotection.

Schools looking for a bargain should beware of software prices that are just too good to be true. Questionable software companies offer inferior products that are far below what can be found on the open market. There have been several instances where schools have been sold software that was intended to be sold only with a new PC (from a retailer). While it’s a working product, this software usually doesn’t come with support – not to mention that buying or selling it is a violation of the publisher’s licensing agreement.

It’s important to get the right protection for your particular system and not just the security software on sale. Whatever security solution you select, it should protect all endpoints, include patch management and encryption features, and reduce the complexity of your ever-changing system.

The math for staying secure is pretty basic:

Cost

of t

he a

ttac

k

Chance of getting infected

Sophisticated cybercrime

Well-funded targeted attack

Spray and prey

THE BASIC THEORY FOR STAYING SECURE

The chance of getting infected drops exponentially while the cost of the attack increases linearly.

Now that you’re aware of the growing malware battle, the risks to your institution’s network, and the importance of proper endpoint protection, you’re faced with the daunting challenge of finding the right anti-malware suite. Of course, everyone wants the best possible protection at the lowest price.

Kaspersky Lab has developed a model for evaluating anti-malware software. The idea is to assist your IT manager in considering all the components of deployment during the RFP development stage and during the evaluation process. This model is called the Total Cost of Protection, which helps you calculate all hard and soft costs associated with an anti-malware deployment. Poor detection rates, a negative impact on system or network performance, complex administration, and poorly outsourced vendor support can increase costs and put data at risk.

Educational institutions often have diverse and heterogeneous networks which are difficult and expensive to protect across the multiple platforms present. Even “free” software can impact costs. A prudent institution evaluates not only the “street-price” of an IT security solution, but also the effect on your existing infrastructure and the level of protection you require. Using the Total Cost of Protection framework provides a school with the ammunition it needs to make the case that the street price of anti-malware isn’t the best determinant for mitigating the risk to your network.

The Total Cost of Protection

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users.* Throughout its more than 17-year history, Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 400 million users worldwide.

Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

*The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2013. The rating was published in the IDC report “Worldwide Endpoint Security 2014–2018 Forecast and 2013 Vendor Shares” (IDC #250210, August 2014). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2013.

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