Executive Brief
Protect your campus from cyberthreats with less day-to-day management
Connect confidently with an integrated security experience from Spectrum Business®
For cybercriminals, finding vulnerabilities in network infrastructure is second nature.
With widespread internet access, mobile devices, online learning platforms and smart classroom tools, hackers have many ways to gain access to critical systems used by colleges and universities. The result has been a 75% year-over-year increase in the average number of weekly attacks per education organization, making education the fastest-growing target of cyberattacks worldwide.1 Nearly two-thirds of top higher education decision-makers say threats to schools’ physical and network security are among their top priorities for the near future.2 Meanwhile, bad actors continue to find vulnerabilities to exploit. As of 2024, 6.7 million individual records at U.S. educational institutions had been impacted by ransomware attacks over the previous six years.3 Acknowledging the trends, Moody’s Ratings increased the cyber risk for the education sector from “moderate” to “high” in 2024.4
$550K
The average daily cost of downtime for a ransomware attack on a U.S. educational institution.5
To protect their networks, critical data and intellectual property, many colleges and universities are working to stay ahead of new risks by investing in cybersecurity solutions. Even so, IT leaders are finding it difficult to manage the volume and complexity of security alerts. Part of the challenge is staffing: A majority of cybersecurity and privacy professionals in higher education say that staffing issues have had a negative impact on those services at their institution.6 Nearly 40% of education IT leaders say their organizations lack sufficient understanding of cybersecurity staffing needs — only 10 percent consider themselves fully staffed.7
90% of cybersecurity professionals identify one or more skills gaps on their cybersecurity teams.8
The power of an integrated security experience
When exploring new ways to help your campus stay ahead of cyberthreats, it’s important to keep in mind that it takes more than just the right solutions to deliver complete protection. To connect with confidence, you want security measures that are integrated with your internet and network connectivity.
A network built for protection
Security for today’s campuses starts with having a solid foundation. Spectrum Business is a trusted provider with the right expertise to help you guard against cyberthreats and stay ahead of emerging technology trends that can increase your risk. Rely on us to provide 24/7/365 monitoring that detects threats and automatically responds to network intrusions and cyberattacks.
Expertise that ensures performance
One CIO at a California university says his team responds to more than 1,000 cybersecurity events each day.9 Given such volumes, it can be difficult for security professionals to mitigate threats in a timely fashion. To increase efficiency, IT leaders need to know which solutions and processes are most effective. We assist by partnering with major security leaders to review, verify and apply measures proven to keep your internet service and network secure.
Solutions customized for the demands of your college or university
Every school has different needs. That’s why we start our process by evaluating your current infrastructure and applications to design the network topology most appropriate for your institution. Built-in redundancy delivers layers of protection that help keep your traffic safe and prevent attacks from impacting the campus.
3,574
The average number of weekly cyberattacks experienced by the education sector.10
Multilevel security — from packet level to network traffic
In many cases, schools need more than just traditional local area network (LAN)-side protection for peace of mind. Cybercriminals can use volumetric distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks combined with application-layer attacks to overwhelm specific targets and cause complete infrastructure collapse. We can help you avoid these costly disruptions with our DDoS Protection service, powered by Radware and designed to detect and mitigate network attacks and help keep your network up and running.
136%
The increase in mobile attacks on education institutions from June 2023 to April 2024.11
The flexibility to fine-tune your threat protection
As security demands change, you need the ability to adjust your strategies quickly and seamlessly. At Spectrum Business, we have your security needs covered by providing a range of additional solutions, including perimeter-based protection, firewalls with built-in VPN access, next-generation firewalls with advanced security services and support for integration with client authentication sources. Along with other safeguards such as unified threat management (UTM), these solutions are designed to be flexible and provide multiple security functions from one centralized interface. And with all these services fully managed by our IT experts, you don’t have to worry about whether you have the latest updates installed, as our network engineers and support teams handle them for you. Meanwhile, our managed security service portal allows you to monitor your institution’s network activity, unlocking insights via logs and event tracking.
A unified security approach integrated with your internet and network connectivity can help you eliminate vulnerabilities and expedite issue resolution. With today’s expanded attack surface, it’s essential to have a partner that can remove the complexities of protecting your institution’s students, faculty, staff and data. That’s why we provide solutions capable of addressing your unique security threats while giving you confidence in your infrastructure — no matter how you connect.
$3.5M
The average cost of a data breach in the education industry as of 2024.12
Sophisticated solutions to optimize your IT security
The increase in cloud services, mobile connectivity and IoT devices is a major reason why protecting college and university campuses has become so challenging. While the intelligence built into our network core can help by capturing and removing many large-scale cyberattacks, you can still be open to vulnerabilities based on your specific infrastructure. We can identify the strategies and solutions that would be most effective at protecting your institution’s attack surface and help you understand the role they play in keeping your network safe.
DDoS Protection
Protect the availability of your institution’s network by employing a scalable, subscription-based DDoS solution that uses proprietary machine learning and advanced analytics to identify anomalies in traffic flows and respond to and mitigate attacks away from your network.
Secure Access with Cisco Duo
Help protect your college or university from unauthorized access to sensitive systems, regulatory violations and data loss that can disrupt the institution’s operations. Capabilities that include multi-factor authentication (MFA) and identity management allow IT to set access policies by user and device, regardless of location.
Cloud Security with Cisco+ Secure Connect
Allow remote users to access cloud SaaS applications and the internet securely and directly without reliance on a traditional centralized or premises-based security solution. This cloud-based security service includes secure web gateways, cloud access security broker, identity management, zero trust network access and more.
Enterprise Network Edge
Improve the network experience with an enterprise-grade managed solution that brings together connectivity, equipment and network management to support both hybrid networks and workforces. Powered by Fortinet, the solution simplifies IT operations by providing networking with security features and optional integrated WiFi and switching in a multi-cloud-ready platform.
Managed Network Edge for Campus Living
Simplify the deployment and management of your network with this modular, all-in-one solution. Delivered over the Cisco Meraki platform, it offers each student a private WiFi Personal Network (WPN), even within a shared environment. Every on-campus student gets a private, secure WPN network that ensures connectivity to their devices without detecting or interacting with other students’ devices.
Managed Network Edge for Campus Living also offers security features, routing, SD-WAN, WiFi and switching. Available smart cameras, powered by advanced AI and machine learning, provide actionable insights into your physical and digital spaces. Intelligent sensors automatically detect and alert staff to environmental events.
Ethernet Services
Meet growing data needs by connecting campuses with a fast, reliable WAN solution backed by a 100% uptime service-level agreement (SLA) guarantee and built on a dedicated fiber infrastructure. Bandwidth up to 100 Gbps is available.
Cloud Connect
Extend your network with fast, secure and dependable private connections to cloud service providers with a service backed by a 100% uptime SLA guarantee.
Managed WiFi
Meet user demands for reliable connections to the internet with ubiquitous coverage across your campus.
Consult with experts and explore professional integration services to determine the optimal configuration for your needs with solutions backed by 100% U.S.-based support, available 24/7/365.
Count on us to help you keep student data safe
Protecting your campus from cybersecurity threats has never been more important. Changes in technology are creating new network vulnerabilities and exploits, while opportunistic hackers are intensifying their efforts to take advantage of challenging situations. To stay ahead of risks and move your institution forward confidently, you need to consider all aspects of your security strategy.
Receive the level of protection you need with a single digital security experience that starts at our network core and extends all the way to the solutions you use to keep your campus safe. With our network design expertise, we can help you set up the infrastructure to connect your college or university securely and provide the fine-tuned security solutions you need to protect your network traffic and data.
1. “The State of Cyber Security 2025,” Check Point Research, 2025.
2. “Study: Higher Education Leaders See Security as Top Priority in Effort to Create a Connected Campus,” CBORD, August 2, 2023.
3. Paul Bischoff, “On Average, US Schools & Colleges Lose $500K per Day to Downtime From Ransomware Attacks,” Comparitech, August 27, 2024.
4. Anna Merod, “Moody’s Rates Education Sector at ‘High’ Cyber Risk in 2024,” Higher Ed Dive, November 25, 2024.
5. Bischoff, “On Average, US Schools & Colleges Lose $500K per Day to Downtime From Ransomware Attacks.”
6. Nicole Muscanell, “The Cybersecurity and Privacy Workforce in Higher Education, 2023,” November 9, 2023.
7. Amy McIntosh, “Survey Reveals Top Cybersecurity Issues in Education,” EdTech, June 10, 2024.
8. “2024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study,” ISC2, October 31, 2024.
9. Adam Stone, “Cybersecurity Automation Helps Short-Staffed Higher Ed IT Departments Protect Data,” EdTech, November 21, 2024.
10. “The State of Cyber Security 2025.”
11. “Zscaler ThreatLabz 2024 Mobile, IoT, and OT Threat Report,” Zscaler, 2024.
12. “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024,” Ponemon Institute and IBM Security, July 2024.
