The State of Ransomware in Education 2022

Findings from an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 5,600 IT professionals in mid-sized organizations across 31 countries, including 730 respondents from the education sector.

Introduction

Sophos’ annual study of the real-world ransomware experiences of IT professionals in the education sector has revealed an ever more challenging attack environment together with the growing financial and operational burden ransomware places on its victims. It also shines new light on the relationship between ransomware and cyber insurance, including the role insurance is playing in driving changes to cyber defenses.

About the survey

Sophos commissioned research agency Vanson Bourne to conduct an independent, vendor-agnostic survey of 5,600 IT professionals from mid-sized organizations (100 – 5,000 employees) across 31 countries.

320 respondents were from lower education i.e. organizations that cater to students below 18 years, including primary, secondary, elementary, high school, and K-12 institutions. 410 respondents were from the higher education sector, encompassing organizations catering to students above 18 years such as colleges and universities. Given the many differences between a small school and a larger university, separating education in this way enables us to gain greater insights into the challenges and experiences faced by different types of education organizations.

The survey was conducted during January and February 2022, and respondents were asked to respond based on their experiences over the previous year.