Check Point Software Technologies has teamed up with Westcon-Comstor Southern Africa to host a seminar focused on improving cyber security resilience in South African tertiary education institutions.
This partnership highlights the urgent need for robust cyber security strategies in the education sector, which is increasingly targeted by cyber criminals.
According to Lionel Dartnall, acting country manager for Check Point in South Africa, educational institutions are prime targets for cyber criminals due to their vast stores of sensitive data and often inadequate cyber security measures. “As our educational landscape embraces digital transformation, the need for effective cyber security has dramatically increased," he says.
Check Point reports that in 2024, the education sector was the most targeted globally, suffering an average of 3 086 cyber attacks per organisation weekly— a 37% increase from 2023. This surpassed the government and military sectors.
In South Africa, educational institutions faced an average of 1 729 weekly attacks in October 2024, while across Africa, the figure stood at 2 875. Alarmingly, over 12 000 new domains linked to educational institutions were created globally in 2024, with 1 in 45 found to be malicious or suspicious.
This seminar aims to help universities better safeguard their data and ensure a secure digital learning environment.
Why the education sector?
Aveshan Aiyer, channel manager at Westcon-Comstor Southern Africa, says educational institutions are especially vulnerable due to the valuable data they store, including personal details of students and staff, academic records, research, and intellectual property. “With their large, often open networks and a wealth of critical data, universities and colleges are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation, whether for financial gain, intellectual property theft, or other malicious purposes.”
Aiyer says these institutions face additional risks from unsecured networks, such as public Wi-Fi, and the widespread use of personal devices that may lack proper protection. These vulnerabilities, if exploited, can severely damage an institution's reputation, jeopardise student safety, and disrupt daily operations.
“We identified the need for this seminar after many tertiary institutions shared similar, significant cyber security challenges,” Aiyer explains. “The seminar provides a platform to discuss the evolving threat landscape and equip security teams with the knowledge and tools to safeguard their organisations against these ever-growing cyber risks.”
Westcon advises tertiary institutions to adopt advanced security solutions, including AI threat detection, endpoint protection, and secure access controls. Aiyer also emphasises the importance of cyber security awareness among staff and students for a more resilient institution.
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