IBM helping better prepare schools for ransomware threats with new grants

The grants will focus on the need to establish programs that help address cybersecurity resiliency in schools

IBM is providing in-kind grants worth $5m to help public schools better prepare for ransomware threats.

Big Blue says the grants will focus on the need to establish programmes that help address cybersecurity resiliency in schools across Ireland, Brazil, Costa Rica, the US and United Arab Emirates.

It comes after IBM's Security X-Force report found globally that the percentage of ransomware attacks against the education sector more than doubled from 2020 to 2021, with most cyberattacks taking the form of adware (33 per cent) or ransomware (22 per cent) attacks.

"For schools, a large barrier to strengthening their cybersecurity posture often comes down to constrained budgets, which financially motivated threat actors bet on," said Charles Henderson, global managing partner and head of IBM Security X-Force.

"By pursuing targets with lower defenses, threat actors can reap quick rewards and yield a higher return. In the event of ransomware attacks, the extreme added pressure schools experience to pay a ransom to recover their operations is a profitable wager for the bad guys. As a leader in the security community, it's our duty to help our educational institutions strengthen their cyber preparedness."

The grant, created as part of IBM's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, will be an in-kind contribution in the form of resources and hours performed by IBM Service Corps teams.

Through this, volunteers will help schools establish programmes to address cybersecurity resiliency and provide services including developing incident response plans and ransomware playbooks.

The programmes will also address the need for updating operating systems, providing cybersecurity training for staff, students and parents and implementing strategic communication plans to use in response to a cyber incident.

"Our access to IBM's cybersecurity professionals allowed us to reframe our perspective on how vulnerabilities may originate, and how to educate our school community about cybersecurity safety practices," said Rachel Ford, chief operating officer at KIPP Metro Atlanta Schools.

"We thought cybersecurity concerns were limited to sharing passwords and email phishing, but we now realise that cybersecurity breaches come in many forms. Cybersecurity is now viewed as part of our School Safety Plan and Crisis Response Plan. Everyone plays a part - board members, families, scholars, staff, and vendors. This was one of the best decisions we made for our organisation."