Key Points
- Cybersecurity Threats in Education Are Escalating: Schools face record levels of ransomware, phishing, and data breaches due to aging infrastructure, unpatched systems, and weak BYOD security policies.
- Hybrid-Cloud and Multi-Cloud Adoption Driving Complexity: As schools balance on-prem and cloud environments to protect student data and support remote learning, managing hybrid IT systems has become a major challenge.
- Device Management Is Critical for Security: With educators using five or more devices daily, unified IT management platforms are essential for automating updates, enforcing policies, and minimizing vulnerabilities.
- MSPs and Cyber Insurance Are Key Enablers: Managed Service Providers help schools overcome budget and staffing gaps, while cyber insurance requirements are pushing districts to adopt stronger security controls like MFA and antivirus protection.
- Unified IT Operations Platforms Power Modernization: Solutions like NinjaOne’s unified IT management platform enable schools to simplify endpoint management, reduce tech debt, and strengthen cybersecurity across hybrid environments.
As the new school year begins, school IT leaders face many of the same challenges that other industries have faced transitioning to remote hybrid models. Most notably, an ever-growing number of devices, SaaS applications, and hybrid- or multi-cloud environments has strained a largely decentralized approach to IT management that can’t keep up with the demands of a modern organization.
In NinjaOne’s Back to School Security report we found that the number of devices educators used for daily instruction was growing rapidly but a mixed approach to device security was a hurdle that many organizations hadn’t yet mastered.
For example, many schools have implemented a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy and required little to no security software, such as anti-virus or authentication software, to be installed on devices. While the security posture at schools is changing, this oversight can lead to data leakage, theft, or ransomware.
This growth in devices sees no sign of slowing down either. A report from IDC found strong growth in the devices market, including tools used for daily instruction such as desktops, netbooks, and tablets.
This year, we surveyed the landscape and reviewed new reports and data from our recent Global Tech Debt report. In doing so, we found some bright spots but lingering challenges on the horizon. In this post, we’ll examine the current challenges of IT in the education sector. Plus, we cover these leaders can improve the efficiency of their IT operations.
You can partner with a managed services provider (MSP) or adopting a new unified IT management platform to manage things themselves. There are now options for both to create a more secure and efficient organization.
Cybersecurity threats for schools
Last year saw the highest number of cyber attacks against K-12 and higher education institutions. To this day, educators and students are still exposed to cybersecurity threats. Ransomware, phishing, denial-of-service, and data breaches are all on the rise. Especially as remote learning and an influx of new devices and virtual classrooms open up new opportunities for would-be attackers.
In 2020, some of the largest school districts and universities in the US fell victim to cyberattacks, including Clark County Public Schools in Nevada, the Baltimore School District, UC San Francisco and the University of Utah.
Ransomware is one of the most devastating cyber incidents that schools face. Not every school has widespread and up-to-date backups and for those that do, sometimes they still pay the ransom in hopes that the attackers won’t release the stolen data.
In the case of one school district in Missouri that successfully overcame a ransomware attack without paying the ransom, system backups played a critical role in their success in resolving the incident. The district had more than 300 different systems used for its school system’s operations, which included everything from learning management software and video surveillance systems to classroom intercoms and wireless connectivity systems.
This illustrates the growing technological footprint of modern schools, highlighting potential areas for exploitation and underscoring the need for a unified platform for IT operations.
These attacks do more than just cost school districts time and resources, they also impact students and their educational attainment. According to a recent study from McKinsey & Company, the interruption of face-to-face social aspects impacted classroom experience. This resulted in the students finishing the 2020-2021 school year four to five months behind in reading and math on average. When cyber incidents prevent students from accessing their courses and learning, can hold them back even further.
With things looking so grim, is there any hope at all? Yes, but there’s still plenty of work to do. Cyber insurance is helping drive security improvements in schools and businesses in general. Now, if a district wants to implement a policy or lower premiums, it must meet certain security standards. For example, implementing multi-factor authentication or using antivirus software.
The issue is also driving greater national attention as new federal programs and bills specifically geared towards the education sector are introduced. Another way schools are improving their IT and security posture despite budget and talent issues is by partnering with an MSP. They can provide more services to the district more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Disparate devices and cybersecurity for schools
In NinjaOne’s report on school security, we found that nearly half of educators were using upwards of 5 devices for daily lesson management. This includes laptops and desktops, smartphones, tablets, webcams, and printers. With so many devices holding student data, managing and securing these devices is imperative.
Ideally, the school should provide all of the devices an educator or student needs to be successful. This is so they can be more easily monitored and managed. When schools manage these things, it takes the burden off teachers, students, and their parents from being IT experts, allowing them to do what they do best – teach and learn.
In the event that something were to go wrong, IT teams should quickly diagnose and remediate an issue all while being remote. This is done effectively with the help of a unified platform that combines the power of an RMM with a ticketing solution, many routine issues that students and educators are likely to encounter can be automated to improve learning experiences.
Of course, this tight level of control over devices may not be possible for all schools. Some schools facing financial constraints or a lack of access to reliable internet may have to employ a BYOD policy. It could be likely that the school provides a limited number of devices to students and educators.
When deciding what to provide, school IT leaders should identify the greatest areas of risk for potential attacks. From there, they can weigh it against their budgetary constraints. For example, the school can provide a laptop and mobile hotspot, but not a smartphone or tablet. In any case, a cloud-based unified platform for IT operations can also help here. Especially as it enables students and educators to download and install the agent on their own devices. Thus, the school’s IT team can still provide support and management.
But new devices aren’t the only ones that schools need to worry about. Many of the devices and hardware schools rely on are aging quickly. In NinjaOne’s Global Tech Debt report, 20% of school IT leaders surveyed reported that their school’s hardware was more than 10 years old. Outdated IT infrastructure may not seem menacing, but these devices are more likely to be left unpatched and insecure.
In fact, the report found that 38% of school IT leaders said their organization had suffered a cybersecurity incident due to insecure legacy technology. Respondents also noted that replacing outdated or aging IT infrastructure was their second-highest priority. And transitioning from on-prem to cloud software as their top priority.
Outdated, insecure, and improperly managed devices can severely impact the student experience. It should therefore be a major consideration when evaluating a school’s IT needs. MSPs hoping to work with clients in the education space should keep this in mind and consider ways to highlight how improved IT services translate into better student experiences.
Furthermore, proactive maintenance and management of their devices through a unified platform can prevent many issues from arising in the first place.
Education moves to hybrid- and multi-cloud future
The increasing cybersecurity demands of modern classrooms require software tailored to their specific needs, much like IT solutions for state and local government.
Because some new software deals with sensitive student data, schools are employing a hybrid approach to the tools they use. Student data has remained very cloud-resistant and many schools opt to have a unique on-prem or privately managed cloud to manage this data. However, some cloud-based solutions, like Google’s popular Workspace for Education have caught on in the remote learning era. The data it holds includes grades, rosters, registration, demographics, and other sensitive student information. Beyond the need to securely store student data, schools have additional cloud storage requirements, including documents, presentations, and recorded lectures, among others.
A multi-cloud or hybrid approach is becoming increasingly the norm for more practical reasons, too. It’s much more cost-effective to anticipate and manage surges in demand as well as deliver IT services. This approach allows schools to meet students wherever they are while delivering a high-quality end-user experience. A combination of public, private, and edge computing also provides schools with a framework for effectively dealing with disruptions and crises.
Hybrid cloud environments are complex and require specialized tools to be managed effectively. Thankfully, MSPs have helped clients in industries such as healthcare, finance, and professional services transition away from legacy and embark on digital transformation journeys.
In many ways, education is experiencing its own transformation and there are many resources available to them that a trusted advisor can provide guidance on.
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How schools can improve cybersecurity and IT operations
Like most organizations trying to rapidly adapt to a new and changing world, educational institutions are no different. According to recent reports, school IT leaders have stabilized their schools’ networking environments and protocols. This helps with supporting students and teachers. However, the new challenge is centered on efficiently managing all new devices, software, and cloud environments that power digital learning.
Facing tight budgets, aging technology, and more IT leaders need new options for efficient and secure device, application, and cloud management. At the core of their needs is a unified platform for IT operations. Schools, universities, and other higher education institutions can manage thousands of unique devices. And a decentralized approach to device management is a sure way to end up with unpatched software and inefficient use of resources.
As schools prepare for the upcoming year, they should chart a path towards IT modernization. NinjaOne’s unified IT management platform can help deliver that experience through a single source for total endpoint management. Best yet, Ninja is easy to use and is equipped with features that make co-managed IT services more effective. Whether school IT leaders decide to manage their organizations themselves or with support from an MSP partner, Ninja is designed to make it easy.
Sign up for a free trial of NinjaOne today to see how a unified IT management platform can support your organization.
