{"id":14689,"date":"2020-09-09T12:22:29","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T09:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/?p=14689"},"modified":"2026-03-27T19:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T16:28:22","slug":"ddos-attacks-against-educational-resources-increased-by-more-than-350-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saudishopper.com.sa\/en\/ddos-attacks-against-educational-resources-increased-by-more-than-350-this-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"DDoS attacks against educational resources increased by more than 350% this spring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks (attacks that aim to overwhelm a network until the server crashes) against educational resources grew exponentially this spring when compared to the previous year. For each month from January to June 2020, the number of DDoS attacks affecting educational online resources increased by at least 350% when compared to the corresponding months in 2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a denial of service (DoS) attack, cybercriminals attempt to overwhelm a network server with requests for services so that the server crashes \u2014 denying users access. While DoS attacks involve only one attack computer, what typically occurs is a distributed denial of service (DDos) attack. These involve a \u201cbotnet\u201d \u2014 a series of infected computers that can carry out tasks simultaneously. DDoS<\/a> attacks are particularly problematic because they can last anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks, causing disruptions to organizations\u2019 operations and \u2014 in the case of educational resources \u2014 denying students and staff access to critical materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With more people than ever online due to the pandemic this spring and summer, networks became a preferred target of an attack. In fact, globally, the total number of DDoS attacks increased by 80% in Q1 2020<\/a> when compared to Q1 2019. Moreover, attacks on educational resources accounted for a large portion of this growth. Between January and June 2020, the number of DDoS attacks affecting educational resources increased by at least 350% <\/strong>when compared to the corresponding month in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Percent increase when compared to 2019<\/td>January: 550%<\/td>February: 500%<\/td>March: 350%<\/td>April: 480%  <\/td>May: 357.14%<\/td>June: 450%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The percent growth in the number of attacks on educational resources when compared to the same month of the previous year<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DDoS attacks weren\u2019t the only cyber threats faced by educators and students this past spring. From January to June 2020, 168,550<\/strong> unique Kaspersky users encountered increase number of various threats distributed under the guise of popular online learning platforms\/video conferencing applications (Moodle, Zoom, edX, Coursera, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Blackboard). Educators also encountered an increasing number of phishing pages and emails exploiting these same platforms, also putting them at risk of downloading various threats.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemote learning became a necessity for billions of students this past spring, and many educational institutions were forced to make the transition with little or no preparation. The ensuing increase in the popularity of online educational resources coupled with this lack of preparedness made the educational sector an ideal target for cyber-attacks. Moving forward this fall, as many schools and universities plan to conduct classes online\u2014at least part of the time \u2014 it\u2019s critical these organizations take steps to secure their digital learning environments,\u201d  <\/em>comments Alexander Gutnikov, security expert at Kaspersky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full report about the cyber risks facing digital education here: https:\/\/media.kasperskycontenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/09\/04113558\/education_report_04092020_2.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To stay protected from DDoS attacks, Kaspersky experts recommend: <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n