This article was originally published in Solutions Review on 10/1/24 by Charlie Sander, CEO at ManagedMethods.
DDoS are common, and dangerous, attacks on school networks
It’s well-established that the digital age has brought with it a whole host of benefits to schools. But, at the same time, it has exposed them to all kinds of cyber threats. One of the biggest threats is the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which occurs when hackers overwhelm their network by directing tons of traffic there, completely disrupting the school’s operations.
Ransomware attacks understandably grab the most headlines, but DDoS attacks are more common and can be devastating. Given how vulnerable schools often are due to a lack of resources and funding, this is a concerning trend that needs to be addressed. Let’s examine DDoS attacks in more detail and what schools can do to prevent them.
The Increasing Prevalence of DDoS Attacks in Schools
In a recent Verizon report that analyzed Data Breaches, it was revealed that 1780 cybersecurity incidents occurred in educational institutions in 2024, with 86 percent of these involving some level of data leakage. This is 258 percent more than in the previous year, which shows how significantly the problem is escalating.
Looking more locally, in Harris County, Texas, an 18-year-old student recently orchestrated a DDoS attack in his school using only his school-issued Chromebook. It caused huge state-wide disruption, with 24,000 students affected over the next three days. One expert described the incident as like “pulling the fire alarm in all schools simultaneously and continuously.” The issue with these DDoS attacks is that they are very cheap to execute. A student can pay just a few dollars to various domains that host these kinds of “attacks-as-a-service,” and that’s all it takes.
What We Know About the Impact of DDoS Attacks on Schools
As discussed above, DDoS attacks hone in on a school’s network infrastructure, sending a ton of traffic to cause outages. One issue is that the attacks are often not immediately recognized, instead mistaken for being routing tests or minor outages, which means the response and any potential mitigation efforts are too late. The implications of the disruption are not just localized to within the school grounds. It can damage the school’s public reputation and might affect enrollment and trust with the local community.
Perhaps most concerning of all, DDoS attacks often are launched at the same time as other malicious activities. They are commonly used as a diversion that can soften the school’s defenses while the hacker infects the network with something more damaging, such as ransomware.
