Deep Freeze: Enhancing Cybersecurity in Educational Institutions

Education is difficult enough without having to worry about external bad actors. Crafting effective syllabi, course criteria and lesson plans is hard to get right, but thankfully, technological innovations have made it easier to source and share information. The drawback is that this same reliance on technology leaves educational institutions vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.

Because schools and learning organizations often collect sensitive private information, they can be targets for hackers and cybercriminals. When teaching children, this is especially problematic. We all want to keep kids safe and, being so young, they may be likelier to click on unsafe links or otherwise engage in behavior that exposes educational computers and systems.

Parents and adult learners want to know that schools and institutes have the means to keep sensitive information private. That’s why Faronics developed Deep Freeze, a powerful cybersecurity solution.

What Cybersecurity Threats Do Educational Institutions Face?

Cyberthreats are an issue for all of us every day. Schools, hospitals, businesses and individuals all must do what they can to stay safe from people who may want to ransom sensitive information back to them or simply steal credit card information. Unfortunately, cybercriminals often innovate as quickly as many tech companies do, so preparing for the next wave of attacks is never easy.

Educational institutions must be cognizant of threats and vulnerabilities, such as:

• Data breaches: Because schools store so much sensitive data about students, parents and staff, cyber criminals often target them. These hackers may be further incentivized by the belief that schools won’t have the most robust defenses in place, due to outdated systems and limited IT budgets. Home addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and banking information could all suffer exposure without a good cybersecurity tool.

• • Ransomware attacks: After stealing data, hackers may try to sell it back to the victimized school or organization. A similar strategy involves ransomware. Cyber criminals can encrypt school systems and demand payment for restoring access. These attacks disrupt operations, making any use of digital platforms impossible for schools until they pay up, effectively halting all their work.

• Phishing attacks: Cybercriminals use phishing emails to trick staff and students into revealing login credentials or downloading malware. 

• Insider threats: Unfortunately, schools must also consider the threats posed by their own faculty and students. These issues most commonly arise when students — and sometimes staff — make unintentional errors. These can include clicking on dodgy links, using weak passwords or mishandling sensitive data. Institutions should also prepare for the comparatively rare, but perhaps even more dangerous, possibility of a malicious insider exploiting access themselves.

• Compliance issues: Schools must comply with laws, such as FERPA in the U.S. and GDPR in the EU. Cyber attacks can create conditions of non-compliance, potentially resulting in fines and reputational damage.

• Remote learning risk factors: For schools and organizations that offer remote learning, the vulnerabilities only increase. In these setups, administrators can’t control every device that accesses their systems, or from which Wi-Fi networks they connect.

• Third-party vendor risks: Educational institutions often use third-party applications for teaching, testing and administrative tools. If these vendors have weak security systems, then so might the schools that use them.

Deep Freeze Protects Schools from Cybersecurity Threats

When choosing a cybersecurity solution — especially when guarding information as sensitive as schools’ data can be — it’s important to consider layered defenses. Threats come in different forms, and it’s unwise to rely on one method or tactic to protect yourself. Deep Freeze has several security measures that can keep schools’ systems safe. 

At Faronics, we employed this defense-in-depth strategy to make Deep Freeze the most effective security solution possible. The principal modes of defense that Deep Freeze utilizes are:

Reboot to Restore

The centerpiece of Deep Freeze’s defense mechanisms is Reboot to Restore. This feature allows workstations to revert to a pre-determined safe state automatically upon restarting. Any unauthorized changes simply vanish by restarting the computer. Did a hacker gain access to a computer and install ransomware? Did a child unknowingly make a damaging alteration to the system? With Reboot to Restore, it won’t matter. Just restart and the changes are undone. 

Antivirus Software

Antivirus software is a fundamental component of any cybersecurity solution. These features detect and eliminate malware and ransomware.

Firewalls

Firewalls are also fundamental to cybersecurity. These mechanisms block unauthorized access to the network they protect. Firewalls can deter even proficient hackers, as they may decide to move on to easier targets, leaving your system unbothered.

Data Encryption

This is something of a failsafe measure. Deep Freeze can prevent most cyber criminals from ever even coming close to sensitive data. But because hackers are always refining their tools and techniques, it only makes sense to encrypt data. This protects potentially sensitive information so nobody outside the system can access it in the event of a breach.

Schools have to do a lot more than just teach. One thing students and parents expect of educational institutional systems is effective measures to keep their information safe. Deep Freeze does this and ensures teachers and administrators don’t spend hours or even days working to restore their systems after an attack. To learn more about the many security and efficiency benefits of Deep Freeze, please reach out to our experts today.