ORLANDO, Fla — New data shows cyberattacks on U.S. schools and universities have tripled since last year.
In our February investigation, 9 Investigates reported on an increase in cyberthreats on Central Florida schools between breaches at Sumter and Flagler county schools to scares in Brevard and Marion counties.
According to new data from Check Point Software Technologies, the average number of weekly attacks in January 2024 stood at 1,176. By April 2025, that number had nearly tripled to 3,323.
9 Investigates spoke to Check Point’s Dave Meister, who says their research team collected this data through their internal threat intelligence along with posts from ransomware groups on the “dark web.”
Meister says hackers are targeting children’s information not only in hopes of schools paying a ransom.
“A lot of the time it’s about exfiltrating that data and then going after parents to say, ‘I have pictures of your children, I have information about your children. If you don’t pay me x amount of money. I’m going to start to create deep fakes with pictures of you children,’” Meister said.
Schools are easy targets because they hold sensitive records like Social Security numbers, medical records and discipline records that can be used as blackmail against parents and students. Check Point also points out schools’ budgets are stretched thin with cybersecurity often underfunded.
“The fact that students are coming in with devices that may not have adequate software to be able to stop these attacks,” Meister said.
Emsisoft cyberthreat expert Luke Connolly found many attacks on U.S. schools trace back to four cybergangs. 9 Investigates found at least one group with Russian ties.
“Those ones are getting some traction. They have gained some expertise into how to get into schools,” Connolly said.
Mesiter says schools should prioritize cyberattack prevention over detection. He says schools should enforce multi-factor authentication and strong passwords across devices for faculty, staff, and students.
He added parents shouldn’t hesitate to ask their child’s school how they are protecting sensitive data.
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