Why are Colleges the perfect target for Cybercrime?

ISO 27001: Why should Colleges consider this standard?

Colleges are places of learning, opportunity, and community. They offer an open and inclusive atmosphere, both physically and now digitally. Unless they take a full review of their security, by using standards like ISO 27001, then they will be left exposed and open to threats and vulnerabilities.

Their openness is why they are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, and the cybercriminals are winning the war on Safety and Security. Not because Colleges and the people who lead them lack intent, but because their environments present the perfect and most attractive opportunities for attackers.

Think about it; They are large complex organisations with hundreds of people, hundreds (thousands?) of systems and digital devices, and a user base who need to share large quantities of personal and financial data about themselves. Students pose a unique challenge for Colleges and Universities because there needs to be a balance of security controls, and open facilities so that students can, well, study.

Cybercriminals know all of this, which is why although UK government data shows most (not all!) colleges recognise cyber risk and take proactive steps, the number of attacks and breaches remains persistently high.

But as as we know within the public sector, it’s essential for leaders to understand not just that incidents are happening, but why and how that translates into real organisational risk. (GOV.UK)

Cyberattacks Are Routine – Not One-Off Events

According to the UK government’s 2025 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, around 85% of further education collegesand 91% of universities reported experiencing a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months, which is far above the rate for UK businesses overall. (GOV.UK)

That means attacks are not a rare abnormality – they are the new norm.  Keep in mind that an ‘attack’ doesn’t need to be successful to be a success! (English teachers will hate me for that?!) But it’s true.  Let me give you a real world example; If you walked down the street and someone attacked you for your wallet/bag, but didn’t get it; Would that attack never have happened, just because they didn’t get away with your valuables?

Cyberattacks are happening all the time. They are automated and highly effective – They only need to find one chink in your armour to be successful.

This is all backed up by the UK Government’s recent survey that showed;

• 97% of further and higher education institutions identified at least one phishing attack. (GOV.UK)
• 36% experienced denial-of-service attacks — far higher than for most other sectors. (GOV.UK)
• Around one in three reported breaches or attacks occurring weekly. (GOV.UK)

These are not small, isolated probes. They are persistent pressure against education systems.

To put it bluntly; If you don’t think you’re under attack, it’s because you’ve got your head buried in the sand – and at some point, someone is going to kick you up the backside!

Real UK Education Sector Incidents You Should Know About

Ok, so you probably think I’m being over dramatic. Maybe you think I’m being a ‘Cassandra’ (Classical readers will know the reference!).

While many breaches go unreported publicly, there are some real examples that bring the statistics to life. For example;

📍 1. Universities Targeted by Hackers — Cambridge & Manchester (2024)

In early 2024, a hacking group claiming political motives took responsibility for an attack that disrupted internet connectivity at both the University of Cambridge and the University of Manchester. The incident affected network availability and connectivity across core systems. (Times Higher Education (THE))

This serves as a stark reminder that even high-profile institutions with mature technology can be impacted, and that availability is a real form of risk (Keep in mind that Security is all about Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability!)

📍 2. Frequent Attacks Across Colleges & Universities

Government data shows that further and higher education institutions are far more likely to experience attacks, than most UK businesses. These include phishing, malware, impersonation, and denial-of-service. (edexec.co.uk)

For leaders in Colleges, this reinforces a strategic point: These aren’t random, low-impact blips. They’re consistent threats with a range of attack vectors.

 Why Colleges Are Attractive Targets

Understanding why Colleges are targeted helps turn these incidents into strategic insights so let’s take a deeper look at the primary drivers:

1. Large, Diverse User Populations

Colleges have thousands of users from staff and contractors, to students, all cycling through accounts daily. This large, constantly changing user base increases the chances of compromised logins, passwords and dormant accounts leading to phishing success.

In fact, phishing was by far the most common type of attack recorded by Colleges and universities in the UK survey undertaken by the UK government which demonstrated there was a 97% incidence rate in education compared with 85% overall. (GOV.UK)

2. High-Value and Long-Lived Data

Colleges hold a mix of personal and institutional data that attackers value, such as;

• Personal identifiers
• Safeguarding and health records
• Financial and payroll data
• Research information

Unlike credit card numbers, most of this data can’t be easily changed once exposed, making it useful for fraud or extortion.

Imagine, for example, Cybercriminals gaining access to your students files and then impersonating the College they email all your students, stating that there was a tax rebate in the students favour, and all they need do is provide banking details and the money would be shared with them.  Would the students fall for it? Who knows, do do you want to run that risk?

3. Legacy Systems and Resource Constraints

Even though most UK colleges report having cyber security policies and technical controls in place, many still run legacy systems or have limitations in patching and monitoring cycles, especially during busy academic terms. (GOV.UK)

This creates gaps that persistent attackers can probe. Remember – they only need to find one gap in your defences.

4. Time Pressure and Operational Impact

The moment a College’s systems go down, the impact is immediate:

• Teaching stops
• Assessment systems become inaccessible
• Student online services fail
• Staff struggle to work

That operational pressure increases the urgency to restore services quickly, which is precisely why ransomware and availability attacks are valued by attackers.

So what can we do?

 The Missing Link: Human and Decision-Making Vulnerabilities

Technical controls matter of course, but attackers most often exploit people and processes. As the saying goes “Amatures hack systems. Professionals hack people.”

For example:

• Phishing campaigns succeed because legitimate users click urgent-looking links
• Decisions are delayed in crises because roles and authority aren’t clear
• Incident response plans exist on paper but have not been rehearsed

These aren’t just issues and gaps to be addressed. They are the very vulnerabilities that convert a threat into an actual risk event.

This is why standards like ISO 27001 are so important – It doesn’t only focus on technology. It focuses on risk.  

Risk to processes. Risk to the organisation. Risk to people.

ISO 27001 in summary

If you’re new to ISO 27001, you can read more about it on our other blogs, including our ‘What is an ISMS’ blog. But in short, ISO 27001 is an international standard that ensures you focus your attention where it will do you most good.

This is enabled by understanding where you are, and what your assets are. From there it’s a simple matter of identifying your risks and then applying appropriate controls. Some of these controls are technical and others are organisational (including people and physical too).

The point is that ISO 27001 is an wholistic approach to security. It is not a ‘tick-in-the-box’ standard.  Ultimately it provides you with the assurances you need that everything is being done to protect the College.

Does ISO 27001 guarantee you’ll never suffer a breach? No.  But here’s another way of looking at it… seat belts and airbags in a car, don’t stop you having accidents, but they will reduce the damage if and when it happens… and they just might save your life! 

In Conclusion

If you work for a College or have the ‘ear’ of the Board, then here are some key, evidence-based stats that they need to be aware of and some food-for-thought;

✔ 85% of further education colleges have identified breaches or attacks in the past year. (GOV.UK)
✔ 91% of universities have suffered similar issues — far higher than most businesses. (GOV.UK)
✔ Phishing is almost universal in education-related breaches. (GOV.UK)
✔ Attacks frequently occur weekly for one-third of institutions. (GOV.UK)
✔ High-impact events — such as connectivity or availability disruption — do happen even at leading universities. (Times Higher Education (THE))

What this means for UK colleges today is that Cyber risk is not theoretical – It’s strategic. It’s Tactical and it’s operational, ongoing, and measurable. To put it simply, the data doesn’t lie – Colleges experience breaches far more frequently than most other sectors. (GOV.UK)

The senior leadership team in Colleges need to know that it isn’t a “cybersecurity teams’ problem.” This is an issue for every aspect of the College, because attacks ripple through finance, student services, reputation, and governance.

The Senior leaders need to remember that ‘People and process’ are as important as technology, in fact more so. Yes, technical barriers can slow attackers but human and leadership gaps are where incidents escalate.

Think of it like this… Even the most advanced car can still have an accident. Not because the technology is flawed, but because the person behind the wheel is ultimately in control. It’s the human in the technology that ‘drives’ towards risk or reward.

Closing Thought: Awareness Isn’t Enough – We need action

UK government data confirms what many College leaders already suspect:
cyber threats in education are consistent, varied, and frequent. (GOV.UK)

The most successful institutions that repel such threats don’t just recognise risk – they manage it through:

• Clear accountability
• Practice-tested plans
• Realistic incident exercises
• Continuous learning from evidence

If your College hasn’t yet translated cyber incident data into leadership action, the next breach might be the moment you start.

Or perhaps you’d like to take the less dramatic route and fix the issues BEFORE they occur?

 More questions?

We are ISO 27001 Consultants who provide ‘Compliance without Complexity’® and we know we can help you… we even wrote a book about it. For more information on how to implement ISO 27001, written by ISO 27001 consultants like us, you like to consider buying our book, “The Real Easy Guide to ISO27001” which is available on Amazon.  

Fastback your journey to ISO27001 and buy our Policies to get started TODAY!

Take a look at our “ISO 27001:2022 Policy Pack” and when coupled with our book you’ll have everything you need to succeed in achieving ISO 27001 certification!