It wasn't long ago that the main worry for school IT teams was a broken printer or a forgotten password. Today, things are much more serious. As we move through 2026, cybercriminals are targeting schools and colleges more than ever before.
Recent figures show that attacks on the education sector have jumped by 63% globally in just one year. From local primary schools to large universities, no one is off the radar.
The uncomfortable truth: most schools that get hit thought it wouldn’t happen to them. They weren’t ignoring security. They just had gaps they didn’t know about.
Why are schools being targeted?
Hackers aren't just looking for money; they search for easy targets. Schools often face a few specific problems:
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Small IT teams: Most schools have not enough staff looking after hundreds of devices. In many cases, the IT team consists of one person overseeing several schools at the same time.
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Open environments: With thousands of students and teachers using the network, there are many chances for someone to click a dodgy link by mistake.
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Old kit: Many schools still use older computers or software that hasn't been updated, which gives hackers an easy way in.
How to protect your school without the fuss
You don’t need a massive budget or a team of experts to keep your school safe. Here are three practical ways to stop ransomware in its tracks.
1. The ‘reboot to fix’ approach
The best way to deal with a virus or a ransomware attack is to make sure it can't stay on the computer. With a tool like Deep Freeze, you can set your computers to a 'clean' state.
How it works: If a student accidentally downloads something nasty, you just restart the computer. Everything goes back to exactly how it should be, and the threat is wiped away instantly. Many schools schedule restart tasks at the beginning of the day, so they know that every day begins with a totally clean fleet of devices.
2. Only allow the good stuff
Most security software tries to spot 'bad' files. But hackers make new ones every day. A better way is to use Anti-Executable.
Instead of trying to block the bad stuff, you tell the computer only to run the programs you trust (like Word or Chrome). If a ransomware file tries to start, the computer simply says 'no' because it isn't on the list.
3. Automate Windows updates
When Microsoft issue a security patch, they're doing so for an extremely important reason: they've identified a vulnerability and closed it up. But there's often a few months before a typical school is typically patched up: this time lag lets in the ransomware attacker. By setting Windows updates to deliver overnight (even if computers are shut down) as soon as they're available, you shut that security window and significantly reduce security risk.
4. Lock down desktops
Kiosk mode allows you to display only specified applications and weblinks to your students.
This further limits the security risks that may be introduced to your school by limiting behaviours that you wouldn't want. WINSelect includes a further raft of restrictions that you may opt to place on your users; for example, you may wish to stop control panel, USB drives, certain file extensions, or start menu.
Resilience is better than recovery
The goal is to have a system that doesn't just recover from an attack, but one that is barely affected by it. With layered security from Faronics Cloud, you can stop most threats before they even start.
In a time when school budgets are tight, the smartest move is to use tools that fix themselves.
Want to see how it works?
We are hosting a live session to show you how to keep your school’s computers safe and reduce your daily IT tasks. Feel free to sign up!
