This article was originally published in EdTech Digest on 10/08/25 by Charlie Sander.
With cyberattacks rising, schools can strengthen defenses through ethical hacking and proactive testing
This back-to-school season, cybersecurity protocols need to be front of mind for leaders across K-12 school districts.
The reason is clear: not only have we seen an alarming rise in the rate of cyberattacks during this past academic year, but we’ve also seen the malicious ways that hackers exploited sensitive student and staff data after the event of serious breaches.
“…not only have we seen an alarming rise in the rate of cyberattacks during this past academic year, but we’ve also seen the malicious ways that hackers exploited sensitive student and staff data after the event of serious breaches.“
Charlie Sander, Chairman & CEO, ManagedMethods
To illustrate, the Center for Internet Security found that 82% of 5,000 K-12 institutions suffered a cybersecurity incident between July 2023 and December 2024, while 61% of IT and security professionals working in education confirmed they were targeted by ransomware over the past 12 months, according to the 2025 Ransomware Risk Report.
The reason behind the relentless surge in cyberattacks is due to the value associated with sensitive student credentials. While hackers may decide to sell stolen credentials on the Dark Web, they are also known to use the possibility as a way to extort educational institutions.
Earlier this year, PowerSchool, a student information system, confirmed it decided to pay a ransom following an attack in December, in which the threat actor contacted “multiple school district customers” directly in an attempt to extort them using data stolen during the attack.
K-12 schools also need to recognize that hackers are constantly looking for ways to beat existing security controls and employ a sophisticated range of emerging technologies. This means that security solutions that provided robust coverage a few years ago can’t be relied on by default.
Instead, ethical hacking and “white hat” practices are gaining prominence as one of the most effective ways that schools can improve their security posture on a budget.
Why schools are turning to ethical hacking
What if one of the most effective ways for schools to strengthen their defenses was to test them by “attacking” them? Think of it like a vaccine: using a weakened form of the virus to protect against the real thing. That’s essentially how ethical hacking works.
A strong school network may have layers of protection, as with any other system, one or more of those layers can go down at any time.
Ethical hackers are legally employed to test these layers and attempt to hack into school systems using all the latest known attack methods…
