The State of Ransomware in Education 2023

Sophos’ annual study of the real-world ransomware experiences of IT/cybersecurity leaders makes clear the realities facing educational organizations in 2023. It reveals the most common root causes of attacks and shines new light on how ransomware impacts the education sector. The report also reveals the business and operational impact of paying the ransom to recover data rather than using backups.

About the Survey

Sophos commissioned an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 3,000 IT/ cybersecurity leaders in organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees across 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. The survey included 400 education respondents: 200 from lower education (up to 18 years) and 200 from higher education (above 18 years) and included both public and private sector education providers.

The survey was conducted between January and March 2023, and respondents were asked to respond based on their experiences over the previous year.