More than a third of UK universities are under attack every hour

VMware today announced research revealing that over a third (36 percent) of UK universities are under attack by a cyber attack, on not just on a daily basis, but each hour. Furthermore, the attacks are so frequent and widespread that 83 percent of universities believe that cyber attacks are increasing in frequency and sophistication.

VMware’s research shows that a high percentage of University campuses are being singled out and attacked due to their open architecture.

• VMware believes that over a third (36 percent) are experiencing a successful cyber attack each hour and 87 percent of total universities report experiencing cyber attacks.
• Twenty-five percent have had critical research data infiltrated and 43 percent have had student data such as dissertations attacked.
• The report reveals that more than six in 10 (63 percent) of UK universities claim domestic students pose the biggest threat to data

VMware’s report also shows that confidence is not high within Universities as a quarter of students admit to having critical intellectual property (IP) data infiltrated. This relates to highly confidential and valuable data including national defense, social, economic and medical research.

Furthermore, more than two in five (43 percent) of respondents confirmed that they have had student IP infiltrated, including dissertation materials and exam results. Respondents believe that some of the greatest threats posed by cyber attacks to the data held by their organization come internally, with 63 percent claiming domestic students pose a threat to data.

However, there is also a considerable financial impact, the ramifications of every breach are costly, with 79 percent citing damage to reputation, 77 percent a possible impact on national security and almost three quarters (74 percent) having had to halt a valuable research project.

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