Hackers may be turning their attention to data stored
on college and university IT infrastructures. A hacker gained access to data
from an unnamed U.S. university early in 2014, according to a warning issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The hack initiated a denial-of-service attack against
the servers and used about 98% of the school’s bandwidth. The DHS memo warned
that government-funded research programs are appealing targets and university
networks can offer hackers a way in.
“University networks, which often have multiple levels of
connectivity and accessibility to fuel collaboration, may present easier
targets for cyber-espionage actors than sensitive government or private-industry
networks,” the memo said.
The memo also warned that less sophisticated
cybercriminals may look to hack university networks to carry out phishing
scams, insert ransomware, or create havoc with student financial information.
The university network can also be used as a base for cybercriminal attacks on
other IT systems because constant use by students can mask the criminal
activity.