The Evolving Threat Landscape Every School Needs to See

Schools have become a primary target for cybercriminals. As classrooms depend more on digital platforms and connected devices, the risks grow more serious. Cyberattacks disrupt learning, expose sensitive information, and strain limited resources. The education sector must now view cybersecurity as essential to its mission of protecting students, staff, and operations.

At Lumu Technologies, we continue to analyze the evolving threat landscape through the *Cybersecurity in Education 2025* report. Our findings reveal how attacks are advancing and how schools can take practical steps to strengthen their defenses.

Why Schools Are Prime Targets

Educational institutions hold large volumes of sensitive data, including student records, staff information, and financial details. Many operate with legacy infrastructure and small IT teams, conditions that make them appealing targets for ransomware and data theft.

Cybercriminals understand that downtime in schools has an immediate and visible impact. Interrupting learning and operations can pressure institutions to pay ransoms or rush recovery. This combination of urgency, valuable data, and limited protection makes education a consistent target across the threat landscape.

The Changing Threat Landscape

Ransomware continues to represent one of the most damaging attack types in education, accounting for a large percentage of detected compromises in 2025. At the same time, threat actors are diversifying their methods and improving their ability to avoid detection.

Phishing and 'quishing'(phishing delivered through QR codes) are increasingly common, tricking users into sharing credentials or granting access. Attackers also use advanced malware that adapts to evade traditional security tools. Once inside, they move laterally through networks, escalating privileges and remaining hidden for extended periods.

These trends reinforce the need for real-time detection and continuous monitoring, rather than relying solely on perimeter defenses.

Building Cyber Resilience in Education

Strengthening cybersecurity in education depends on awareness, visibility, and collaboration. Across the sector, schools are taking steps to better understand their exposure and measure the effectiveness of their defenses.

Data from recent assessments shows that institutions with greater visibility into their environments can detect and contain threats more efficiently. The ability to recognize abnormal activity, correlate it with compromise indicators, and respond quickly has become a defining factor in operational resilience.

Cyber resilience is not a static goal but an evolving capability. As threats continue to change, so does the way schools monitor, analyze, and respond. Measuring compromise continuously allows education leaders to make informed decisions and prioritize what matters most for maintaining secure learning environments.

Visibility as the Foundation of Defense

Visibility is the foundation of effective cybersecurity. Traditional tools often fail to detect early indicators of compromise. The Lumu Continuous Compromise Assessment model focuses on identifying confirmed compromise through real-time analysis of network metadata.

By continuously monitoring communications between internal assets and malicious infrastructure, schools gain clear visibility into active threats. This capability transforms cybersecurity from a reactive response into a continuous, data-driven process.

Strengthening the Human Element

Technology alone cannot guarantee security. A strong cybersecurity posture depends equally on people. Protecting school data isn’t just an IT job. Teachers, students, administrators, and vendors all play a role.

Promoting awareness and accountability builds a culture where security is embedded in daily operations. When everyone understands the importance of their digital actions, cybersecurity becomes a shared responsibility that supports the broader mission of education.

Conclusion

As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, schools must evolve to match them. Readiness is the key to resilience. By combining visibility, analysis, and collaboration, institutions can protect learning environments and maintain trust with their communities.

Lumu Technologies continues to help schools and districts identify compromise in real time and transform cybersecurity into a measurable, proactive discipline.

Access the full report:
https://lumu.io/cybertrends/cybersecurity-in-education-2025