Research: Compromised On-Premises Accounts Blamed in 75% of Attacks Targeting Education

  • By Kristal Kuykendall
  • 09/28/23

In three of four cyberattacks targeting education institutions over the last 12 months, IT and security practitioners surveyed by cybersecurity vendor Netwrix cited compromised on-premises user or admin accounts as the attack pathway, according to a new report.

The 2023 Hybrid Security Trends – Education Findings report details findings from Netwrix’s survey of over 1,600 IT and security professionals, which included questions about educational institutions’ IT architecture and digital transformation progress.

Just over three-fourths of respondents said their organization uses a hybrid IT architecture, with 5% fully operating in the cloud. Of the remaining 18% education organizations whose IT systems are housed strictly on-premises, 68% said they plan to adopt cloud technologies moving forward, according to the report.

According to the report, 69% of education respondents said they suffered a cyberattack within the last 12 months, with the most common attack vectors being phishing and user account compromise, Netwrix. What's more, 3 out of 4 attacks (75%) in the education sector were associated with a compromised on-premises user or admin account, compared to 48% for other sectors.

"Organizations in the education sector handle variety of accounts — staff, third-party contractors, educators, students, alumni — that have a high turnover rate. Even if identity management is automated, it is a challenge to keep users trained on security best practices because there is a continual supply of newcomers," said Dmitry Sotnikov, VP of Product Management at Netwrix. "In addition, students may lack experience in spotting phishing emails or fake websites asking for their credentials. To address these challenges, it is essential to mandate security training within the first few weeks and repeat it on a regular basis."

Netwrix urged IT managers to enforce strong password policies that prevent the use of weak and compromised passwords, require MFA, and adhere to the least-privilege principle.

Find the full survey results at Netwrix.com.

About the Author

Kristal Kuykendall is editor, 1105 Media Education Group. She can be reached at [email protected].


Featured

  • data professionals in a meeting

    Data Fluency as a Strategic Imperative

    As an institution's highest level of data capabilities, data fluency taps into the agency of technical experts who work together with top-level institutional leadership on issues of strategic importance.

  • stylized AI code and a neural network symbol, paired with glitching code and a red warning triangle

    New Anthropic AI Models Demonstrate Coding Prowess, Behavior Risks

    Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4, its most advanced artificial intelligence models to date, boasting a significant leap in autonomous coding capabilities while simultaneously revealing troubling tendencies toward self-preservation that include attempted blackmail.

  • university building with classical architecture is partially overlaid by a glowing digital brain graphic

    NSF Invests $100 Million in National AI Research Institutes

    The National Science Foundation has announced a $100 million investment in National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes, part of a broader White House strategy to maintain American leadership as competition with China intensifies.

  • black analog alarm clock sits in front of a digital background featuring a glowing padlock symbol and cybersecurity icons

    The Clock Is Ticking: Higher Education's Big Push Toward CMMC Compliance

    With the United States Department of Defense's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 framework entering Phase II on Dec. 16, 2025, institutions must develop a cybersecurity posture that's resilient, defensible, and flexible enough to keep up with an evolving threat landscape.