Analysts from StormWall, a company specializing in protecting online resources from cyberattacks, have noticed an increase in DDoS attacks on online services of educational institutions in September 2021. Last year, experts also observed a flood of attacks on the education sector, but this year the number of DDoS incidents has increased significantly. According to experts, the number of DDoS attacks on educational institutions has increased by 118% in September 2021 compared to September 2020.
According to experts, the increased hacking activity is related to the start of the school year. Despite the fact that most educational institutions in Russia are now operating normally, they continue to actively use digital platforms as part of the educational process. DDoS attacks on online resources of schools and universities can be organized by students trying to disable information systems and avoid homework.
Experts have analyzed the nature of cyber incidents and found that most DDoS attacks are low power (10-20 Gbps). This suggests that cheap available tools were used to organize the attacks, which could be used by inexperienced hackers. However, DDoS attacks with a capacity of up to 300 Gbit/s were also recorded. In this case, the cybercriminals needed more expensive tools, such as botnets, which cost between $100 and $200 per day.
Ramil Khantimirov, CEO and co-founder of StormWall, stated, “Education has always been one of the most attacked industries. During the pandemic, educational institutions have started to use innovative information systems more actively, which significantly improves the quality of education. However, most digital education platforms are poorly protected against cyber threats, which makes them easy prey for hackers. We are proud that for many years we have been helping many educational institutions create reliable protection against DDoS attacks, which allows them to conduct an effective educational process.”
