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India Today
3 days ago
- India Today
2 lakh cyberattacks, 4 lakh data breaches in Indian educational sector in 9 months
A recent pilot study has revealed that Indian educational institutions have faced more than two lakh cyberattacks and nearly four lakh data breaches in just nine months, highlighting significant vulnerabilities in the sector's digital infrastructure. Conducted under the CyberPeace Foundation's flagship e-Kawach initiative in collaboration with DELNET, Resecurity, and Autobot Infosec, the study underscores that Indian institutions could be up to five times more susceptible to breaches compared to those with stronger cybersecurity report, titled "Exploring Cyber Threats and Digital Risks to Indian Educational Institutions", was released alongside the launch of the 'Cyber First Responder' programme. This initiative aims to train students, faculty, librarians, and staff to combat cyber threats, deepfakes, and AI misuse from July 2023 to April 2024, the study documented over 8,000 unique usernames and 54,000 unique passwords used in brute-force attempts. Frequently targeted usernames included 'root' and 'admin', while easily guessed passwords such as '123456' and 'password' topped the list. The potential consequences of such breaches include phishing scams, faculty impersonation, deep fake exploitation, exam paper leaks, and theft of confidential research data. Commenting on the findings, National Law University-Delhi Vice Chancellor Prof lessor (Dr) G S Bajpai stressed that resilience in the digital era requires adaptive systems capable of responding to Director Dr Sangeeta Kaul described the Cyber First Responder initiative as a proactive approach to shaping change rather than merely reacting to it. CyberPeace Foundation founder Vineet Kumar called the findings a 'wake-up call,' adding, 'Digitisation without cybersecurity is like building a house without doors or locks. Innovation cannot thrive without resilience.'The new programme seeks to build a strong first line of defence within academic institutions to guard against growing cyber risks and misuse of emerging technologies.(With PTI inputs)- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Over 2 lakh cyberattacks, 4 lakh data breaches hit Indian educational institutions in 9 months
Indian educational institutions suffered more than two lakh cyberattacks and nearly four lakh data breaches in just nine months, a pilot study has revealed. The study, titled "Exploring Cyber Threats and Digital Risks to Indian Educational Institutions", was conducted under CyberPeace Foundation's flagship e-Kawach initiative in collaboration with DELNET, Resecurity and Autobot Infosec. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program It was released on Wednesday along with the launch of the "Cyber First Responder" initiative, aimed at equipping students, faculty, librarians and staff with skills to counter cyber threats, deepfakes and misuse of artificial intelligence. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo The nine-month study, conducted between July 2023 and April 2024, found more than 8,000 unique usernames and 54,000 unique passwords being used in brute-force attacks. Commonly targeted usernames included "root" and "admin", while weak passwords, such as "123456" and "password", were frequently attempted. "Indian educational institutions are likely five times more vulnerable to data breaches than counterparts with stronger cyber practices," the report warned, adding that breaches could lead to impersonation of faculty, phishing attacks, deepfake content, theft of sensitive research data and leakage of exam papers. Live Events Vice Chancellor of National Law University-Delhi Prof. (Dr) G S Bajpai said resilience in the digital era means transforming systems in response to a disruption. DELNET director Dr Sangeeta Kaul called the Cyber First Responder initiative "a commitment to shaping, not just reacting to, change", while CyberPeace Foundation founder and global president Vineet Kumar described the report as a "wake-up call" for academic institutions. "Digitisation without cybersecurity is like building a house without doors or locks. Innovation cannot thrive without resilience," Kumar said, adding that the programme aims to create a first line of defence against cyber threats and AI abuse in academia.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian educational institutions hit by over 2 lakh cyberattacks, 4 lakh data breaches in 9 months, reveals study
Indian educational institutions suffered more than two lakh cyberattacks and nearly four lakh data breaches in just nine months, a pilot study has revealed. The study, titled "Exploring Cyber Threats and Digital Risks to Indian Educational Institutions", said Indian educational institutions suffered more than two lakh cyberattacks and nearly four lakh data breaches in just nine months. () The study, titled "Exploring Cyber Threats and Digital Risks to Indian Educational Institutions", was conducted under CyberPeace Foundation's flagship e-Kawach initiative in collaboration with DELNET, Resecurity and Autobot Infosec. It was released on Wednesday along with the launch of the "Cyber First Responder" initiative, aimed at equipping students, faculty, librarians and staff with skills to counter cyber threats, deepfakes and misuse of artificial intelligence. Also read: CBSE conducts surprise inspections in 10 schools across five states and one UT The nine-month study, conducted between July 2023 and April 2024, found more than 8,000 unique usernames and 54,000 unique passwords being used in brute-force attacks. Commonly targeted usernames included "root" and "admin", while weak passwords, such as "123456" and "password", were frequently attempted. "Indian educational institutions are likely five times more vulnerable to data breaches than counterparts with stronger cyber practices," the report warned, adding that breaches could lead to impersonation of faculty, phishing attacks, deepfake content, theft of sensitive research data and leakage of exam papers. Vice Chancellor of National Law University-Delhi Prof. (Dr) G S Bajpai said resilience in the digital era means transforming systems in response to a disruption. DELNET director Dr Sangeeta Kaul called the Cyber First Responder initiative "a commitment to shaping, not just reacting to, change", while CyberPeace Foundation founder and global president Vineet Kumar described the report as a "wake-up call" for academic institutions. "Digitisation without cybersecurity is like building a house without doors or locks. Innovation cannot thrive without resilience," Kumar said, adding that the programme aims to create a first line of defence against cyber threats and AI abuse in academia.
The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
Critical gaps in Indian education sector's digital defences: CyberPeace report
With Indian educational institutions rapidly adopting new technology, they have become vulnerable to a wide range of cyberattacks due to critical gaps in countermeasures and lack of awareness, according to the latest report by non-profit CyberPeace Foundation. The report titled 'Exploring Cyber Threats and Digital Risks to Indian Educational Institutions' was released at an event on Tuesday. A Cyber First Responder initiative focused on Cyber Resilience & AI Safety was also launched in collaboration with DELNET. Supported by the initiative has been designed to equip stakeholders with the essential skills to combat growing cybersecurity threats. 'In a world of AI and rapid tech shifts, disruption should be our teacher, not our must invest in proactive policing that not only catches offenders but deters their very motive...,' said the chief guest at the event, Prof. G.S. Bajpai, Vice Chancellor at National Law University, Delhi, according to a press statement. Impersonate faculty Vineet Kumar, founder of CyberPeace, said, 'This report is a wake-up call for educational institutions across the country. Digitisation without cybersecurity is like building a house without doors or locks. Once a threat actor gains access, they can impersonate faculty or administration, launch AI based phishing campaigns with higher chances of success, produce deepfakes, steal sensitive research data, leak exam papers, and even sell credentials on the darkweb. Also, multiple instances of misuse of AI have been observed.' The research by USI-CyberPeace Centre of Excellence and Resecurity has identified social engineering (phishing and ransomware/malware) attacks, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, cyber espionage, data theft, and snooping or sniffing as potential threats to the sector, which may also have national security implications. In the pilot study, in collaboration with Autobot Infosec, a simulation of educational institutions' networks was performed to gather intelligence. A widespread public network and threat intelligence sensors were deployed across the country, with the aim of capturing internet traffic and analysing real-time cyber attacks targeting specific locations or organisations. During the exercise — from July 2023 to April 2024 — the network recorded 217,886 attack events originating from different IP addresses worldwide. 'A pattern analysis of the attack shows that apart from India, most attacks originated from IP addresses in countries such as the USA, China, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, the Netherlands, Russia, France, Vietnam, Singapore, and Hong Kong,' said the report. However, it clarified that attribution regarding cyberattacks was complex, as there might be some cases where the actor operating from a country exploited the resources of another country to mask the real origin of attack proxy technology. The study identified 8,337 unique usernames and 54,784 unique passwords used in brute force attacks. Students vulnerable The report referred to the findings of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) about a significant rise in cyberattacks in recent years and also referred to the cases reported in July 2023, in which school students across the country received calls and WhatsApp messages from Pakistani intelligence operatives posing as school teachers or an acquaintance and asking for one-time passwords to enable them to join WhatsApp groups. 'The main targets..., according to a news article, were students residing in border regions where cross-border infiltration attempts are more common,' it said. The report said in 2021, an unsecured server had put student data from e-portal Byju's at risk. About two years later, a security researcher found a server-side misconfiguration with Byju's which allegedly ended up exposing sensitive data of students. In March 2023, the Cybercrime Wing in Chennai detained a suspect based on a complaint by the School Education Department alleging that personal details of school students were sold by an individual to third parties. Details of school students from 20 districts were allegedly sold, for which the accused received online payments. Highlighting the financial aspect, the report said that as per an IBM Report in 2023, ransomware incidents in schools and higher education institutions globally — from 2018 to mid-September 2023 — led to the breach of over 6.7 million personal records, causing downtime costs of over $53 billion. Low budgets The report identified factors like low budgetary allocations, lack of technical expertise, training and awareness, outdated computing hardware and software, use of personal devices by students/staff, etc., as making the sector vulnerable. It recommended various measures for the institutions and their staff and students, such as the use of virtual private networks and avoiding download of files and email attachments from unsolicited sources, besides vetting third party vendors. Acknowledging that many important steps have been taken by government agencies in this regard, the report suggested additional measures. It said CERT-In needs to commission in-depth research and ensure implementation of its guidelines. The National Cyber Security Coordinator should create a separate structure for them, while the Cyber Swachhta Kendra can provide free tailored tools.
