• by Jess Nelson , September 7, 2017

Three out of four educational institutions are ill-prepared for IT risks, according to a recent survey of IT specialists by Netwrix that sheds light on the need for cyber security reform in education. 

Almost 80% of educational institutions do not use software for information security governance or risk management, according to the report, and 72% do not have any dedicated cyber security employees.

In fact, only 23% of educational institutions consider themselves to be well-prepared to beat IT risks. 

Netwrix’s study comes on the heels of MacEwan University’s loss of millions of dollars after staffers were fooled by an email-based phishing scam. The Edmonton, Alberta University confirmed last week that it had lost $11.8 million Canadian dollars, or $9.5 million USD, in the phishing attack. 

“On Wednesday, August 23, MacEwan University discovered it had been the victim of a phishing attack,” a statement from the college reads. “A series of fraudulent emails convinced university staff to change electronic banking information for one of the university’s major vendors.”

As a result of the scam, the university transferred the lost sum to a bank account believed to belong to a university vendor. The funds have since been frozen, and MacEwan University says that the college’s IT systems were not compromised by the incident. The University is now auditing its business practices.