Northern Essex Community College latest Massachusetts school targeted in cyberattack
HAVERHILL - Northern Essex Community College was closed for classes Monday and Tuesday after a suspected cyberattack that officials say began on March 1.
"Northern Essex Community College became aware of unauthorized access to its network on or around March 1, 2023," a statement from the school read, "The college immediately launched an investigation in consultation with law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals to determine the extent of any compromise to the information on its network."
According to the statement, the college has no evidence that the attack resulted in access to personal information.
NECC is the latest Massachusetts school to fall prey to hackers. Last month, Nantucket Public Schools closed after a ransomware attack. In January, Swansea Public Schools and Bristol Community College also closed for ransomware attacks.
These may seem like small targets for hackers, but cyber security expert Peter Tran says these attacks should not be ignored. Tran says the hackers are testing their skills on smaller targets in the hopes of finding commonalities in their systems with larger institutions like governments and banking institutions.
"It's actually not uncommon to have the hacker students doing this activity and having the teachers sitting right behind their shoulder," Tran said.
The personal information of students is also valuable to hackers, Tran says. Their identities can be used in financial crimes.
Attacks on schools are happening more and more often, according to data.
Education and research institutions were targeted by an average of 1,065 cyberattacks per week in 2021, according to the Verizon 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report. That is a 75% increased from 2020.
Tran says schools with outdated systems and firewalls should consider using third party companies to protect themselves.
"It's called a managed detection and response solution. So, you basically have a third party that monitors the environment 24 by 7," he said, "so that you can stay ahead of these potential attacks that happen."
