Education Sector Faces Growing Ransomware Threats, Experts Call for Stronger Cybersecurity Protection

The global education sector continues to face growing cybersecurity challenges, with 180 ransomware attacks recorded in the first three quarters of 2025, according to recent data from Comparitech. This marks a 6% rise from 2024, when 170 such incidents were reported. The study included both confirmed and unconfirmed attacks across schools, colleges, and universities.

The United States continues to be the most severely impacted, with 95 of the 180 total ransomware cases this year occurring in the country. At this point, 35 of these incidents have been officially confirmed by institutions. This number is expected to increase, according to experts, as numerous intrusions are disclosed weeks or months after they occur. Nevertheless, the education industry may have experienced a potential improvement in cybersecurity resilience in the last two quarters of 2025, as the number of ransomware cases experienced its first decline since early 2024.

The average ransom demand for all reported incidents was estimated to be $444,400 per attack. Despite some progress, cybersecurity specialists caution that educational institutions cannot afford to compromise their defences. Ransomware continues to be a dominant threat, and schools must continue to allocate expenditures to preventive measures, according to experts.

Academic operations often face serious consequences as a result of ransomware attacks. Network disruptions, data breach, and extended shutdowns of digital systems affected numerous institutions. 2.6 terabytes of data were compromised on average as a result of each incident. Comparitech estimated that the global cost of ransomware incidents in education exceeded $53 billion between 2018 and mid-2023, primarily as a result of system recovery efforts and downtime.

Schools are advised by experts to undertake regular cybersecurity training for their staff, promptly patch vulnerabilities, and maintain up-to-date systems. Furthermore, they recommend the implementation of cybersecurity response plans, backup systems, and phishing awareness checks. Institutions with robust defences are still susceptible to indirect channels due to the fact that numerous attacks target third-party software and service providers.

Institutions can better prepare for the evolving ransomware threats by strengthening digital defences, collaborating with state and federal cybersecurity advisors, and educating staff. This will ensure a safer and more secure digital environment for both students and educators.

Information referenced in this article is from K-12 Dive