Cyber Actors Target K-12 Distance Learning

Summary

The FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC assess malicious cyber actors are targeting kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) educational institutions, leading to ransomware attacks, the theft of data, and the disruption of distance learning services. Cyber actors likely view schools as targets of opportunity, and these types of attacks are expected to continue through the 2020/2021 academic year. These issues will be particularly challenging for K-12 schools that face resource limitations; therefore, educational leadership, information technology personnel, and security personnel will need to balance this risk when determining their cybersecurity investments.

The Joint Cybersecurity Advisory contains technical details of the threats reported and observed, known additional risks and vulnerabilities, proposed mitigations to these threats and vulnerabilities, and is being provided to assist cybersecurity professionals guard against the persistent malicious actions of cyber actors.

Reporting

We encourage recipients who discover signs of malicious cyber activity to contact us via the cyber incident report form here.