Education (K-12)

November 20th, 2025

❓What:

• New cyber intelligence pinpoints the education industry as the most targeted industry globally this year, with more than 4,000 weekly attacks per organization (yes, you read that right).

• This figure represents a sustained 24% year-over-year increase in weekly attacks (~3,500 weekly attacks in 2024).

• Because educational institutions often lack the resources for robust security counter-measures, adversaries have made them the target of attack, viewing them as "target rich, cyber poor" (as coined by CISA's K-12 Cybersecurity Initiative).

Who:

• Hacker targeting PowerSchool, a K-12 education tech provider.

• Over 62.4 million students and 9.5 million teachers reportedly affected.

What:

• Threat actor used stolen credentials to access PowerSchool’s PowerSource customer portal.

Who: Shore Regional High School District, located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with 573 students in grades 9-12.

What: A data breach discovered in April 2023 may have exposed the names, social security numbers, dates of birth, financial information, and medical and health insurance information of students. The breach involved unauthorized removal of files from the district's network.

Impact: The breach potentially exposed sensitive personal information of students, posing risks of identity theft and financial fraud. While there is no evidence of misuse, the district is offering identity monitoring and protection services to affected individuals. This incident highlights the increasing frequency and severity of cyber attacks on educational institutions.

Read the full article HERE

Ransomware with physical impact!

Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School of Lowell, MA, released its indoor air quality assessment, prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Mold growth in the elementary school caused a delay in its opening due to “conditions that appear to have to have been brought on this past summer by a combination of lack of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system controls, due to a cyberattack of the City of Lowell’s computer systems.”

This is just one of a number of schools that have suffered structural and environmental damage due to ransomware. Others, including in a school district in Ohio were forced to cancel classes due to a TrickBot infection that required the re-imaging of 1,000 computers and laptops.