Dive Brief:

• Horry County Schools in Conway, SC, became one of the many victims of ransomware earlier this year when hackers encrypted its data and demanded payment in bitcoin to unlock it.
• According to eSchool News, 2016 has brought an unprecedented rise in encryption ransomware attacks, and in Horry County, which has 42,000 students and a one-to-one device program for fifth through 12th graders, paying about $8,000 was worth a faster return to normalcy.
• In that case, attackers found their way in through an old server in the facilities department, which can serve as a cautionary tale for other districts that use outdated — and unsupported — systems but leave them open to public access.

Dive Insight:

Colleges and universities are seen as particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks because of the quantity of personal data stored in relatively open networks. At the K-12 level, part of the vulnerability comes from a lack of funding that forces districts to continue using old equipment and operating systems. These systems no longer feature automatic updates that improve security and can provide a window into an entire district’s network.

As technology continues to become increasingly important for day-to-day instruction, few schools can afford to go dark for days at a time because of a breach. And as long as paying a ransom continues to be a better business decision than cracking elaborate encryptions, ransomware will have a place in the modern world.