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Security

Greatest cybersecurity hits of 2020

It’s been an unprecedented year for cybersecurity. The pandemic has forced organizations to evolve at breakneck speeds, strong-arming a distributed, remote work model for millions of employees at once — and in the process, leaving corporate networks more vulnerable. Distance learning has brought IT and security issues into every student’s and teacher’s living rooms. The increase in online shopping has lured cybercriminals to take advantage via digital skimming. As we close out this most difficult year, it might appear that the cybercriminals have the upper hand.

Yet as I look back on the scams, phishing campaigns, new malware strains, and sophisticated attacks, I also see teams of IT and security professionals adapting swiftly to wave after wave of obstacles. I see Herculean efforts to keep companies up and running and students learning. I see researchers, analysts, system admins, technicians, directors, and CISOs working together to solve complicated problems. And that makes me hopeful as we head into 2021 and face new challenges. So, let’s take a look back at some of the major cyber events of 2020 and keep their lessons fresh in our minds as we tackle the new year with fortitude, resilience, and renewed optimism.

We may have kicked off this year with 20/20 vision, but none of us had the foresight to predict what was to come. Not long after the beginning of the year, the coronavirus hit in the United States and its first impacts to cybersecurity were cancellations of major conferences. However, as cases rapidly increased through March, it became clear that we had to hunker down and stay in our homes. This, of course, brought on a massive shift to remote work.

For resources on the impact of working from home on security:

As more and more states issued social distancing, masking, and shelter-in-place orders, cybercriminals (ever the opportunists) capitalized on the rising fear with COVID-19 misinformation campaigns, phishing emails that dropped Emotet payloads, and even APT attacks using the coronavirus as a lure. Here are a few stories featuring the ways in which threat actors leveraged public fear and confusion about the virus to their advantage:

Meanwhile, cyberattacks on organizations, a carry-over trend from 2019, picked up pace on SMBs through large enterprise. The malware of choice? Ransomware. Ransomware variants became stealthier and harder to remove as the threat actors behind them became bolder, double-dipping on extortion and raising ransom prices through the roof. Here are just a few of the notable ransomware attacks of 2020:

Attacks on ecommerce platforms, schools/distance learners, and of course the latest discovery of the alleged Russian hack of federal government agencies and IT/security companies round out an astonishing year in cybersecurity. In comparison, the entire previous decade seems pretty tame!

For other takes on the year in cybersecurity, take a look at the following: https://www.techradar.com/news/2020-could-be-the-worst-year-in-cybersecurity-history

https://www.govtech.com/blogs/lohrmann-on-cybersecurity/2020-the-year-the-covid-19-crisis-brought-a-cyber-pandemic.html

And for a look ahead at 2021, Security Magazine has five predictions: https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94223-cybersecurity-predictions-for-2021

Categories
Security

Most US schools fail to secure distance learners

Education in the United States faced a crisis this year. The looming threat of the coronavirus — which spreads easily in enclosed classrooms — forced schools across the country to develop new strategies for education, most involving some form of distance learning.

The dramatic stress of this transition on teachers, parents, and students is well-known. But the impact of long-term distance learning on the cybersecurity posture of schools and districts has not yet been studied — until now. Researchers at Malwarebytes surveyed IT decision-makers and students from K–12 and trade schools, as well as colleges, throughout the US to compile a report on how education security has fared in the wake of the pandemic.

The results paint a rather grim portrait; the education sector, having always struggled with lack of IT budget and personnel, was ill-equipped to move millions of students to a distance learning model. And despite Herculean efforts by IT teams to connect every student and teacher, cybersecurity often slipped through the cracks.

US distance learners remain vulnerable to cyberattack

US schools have been under tremendous pressure over the last 10 months. Forced to close their doors with little warning, teachers, administrators, and IT teams spent the first few months of the pandemic simply figuring out logistics, such as how to get students access to school resources, devices, and Internet service. Unlike most workplaces, schools have been slower to adopt new technologies, and they were not set up for an easy transition to a distance learning model.

Yet even now, halfway through the schoolyear, educational institutions are struggling with cybersecurity for distance learners. Nearly half of all schools did not change their cybersecurity protocols in response to the new distance learning model, which resulted in a number of issues that dramatically increased IT workload and put undue strain on teachers. Some schools even suffered cyberattacks that delayed their distance learning lesson plans for up to a week. Other key takeaways from the report include:

  • 51 percent of IT decision-makers said that no students, teachers, staff, or guests (including parents) were required to enroll in cybersecurity training before the new school year began
  • 47 percent said their schools developed no additional requirements — no distance learning read-throughs, no antivirus tool installations — for the students, faculty, or staff who connected to the school’s network
  • 46 percent of students said their schools suffered a cyberattack (though only 3 percent of IT professionals admitted to the same); On the flip side, of those who engaged in security best practices before the transition to distance learning, none experienced a breach or had to cancel a single day of learning due to a cyberattack

Clearly, security awareness makes a difference in the overall safety of an organization. In fact, of those who were well-studied in cybersecurity, fewer suffered sustained, excess IT workload or experienced Zoombombing attacks than those who were less prepared. However, knowledge is only half the battle. Many respondents were saddled with device and data shortages. Other schools fell flat on security budget. Additional IT challenges presented by distance learning include the following:

  • 40 percent of educational IT pros said their schools are still missing laptops, computers, or tablets for students
  • 28 percent are still missing these devices for teachers
  • 20 percent of IT decision-makers said they had trouble convincing their schools to invest in cybersecurity
  • 44 percent admitted to difficulties in managing the sudden increase of devices connected to the school network
  • 80 percent said there was a steep learning curve for teachers, students, and staff to adapt to online learning tools

But the report wasn’t all doom and gloom. IT professionals had a gargantuan task in front of them to keep teachers teaching and students learning, and for the most part, they were up to the task. About 72 percent of schools provided Chromebooks, tablets, and hotspots to students, and 59 percent distributed laptops, external microphones, and webcams to teachers. More than 70 percent deployed new software tools for distance learning, including Google Classroom and Zoom.

Unfortunately, despite super-human efforts by some educational IT teams, lack of resources, personnel, and budget have strained an already impacted security posture to nearly the breaking point. About 76 percent of respondents experienced connectivity issues, 30 percent suffered a Zoombombing attack, and 52 percent of teachers had to step in and solve an IT or security issue for students and parents. On the bright side, actual cyberattacks were relatively rare.

So, what can educational IT teams do to improve their school’s security posture in 2021 and beyond? Here’s what the report suggests:

  • Create and train teachers and staff on new cybersecurity policies relevant to distance learning (For other businesses, this can be an additional set of rules related to remote work/work from home)
  • Develop requirements that direct teachers and parents to the appropriate point person in IT or security, should issues arise that need solving quickly
  • Implement access rules, including whether students should use a VPN or password manager to access the school’s network and accounts
  • Host cybersecurity training events for teachers, staff, students, and parents

For more information on the state of education security in the US, read the full report from Malwarebytes Labs here: https://resources.malwarebytes.com/files/2020/12/Lessons-in-cybersecurity_How-education-coped-in-the-shift-to-distance-learning_Malwarebytes.pdf