Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Data Breach Investigations Report – Education Insights

  • 05/08/19

New York  – Today, Verizon officially released the 2019 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) - which found that slightly more than one third (35%) of all breaches in the education vertical were due to human error.

The DBIR series provides the most comprehensive view of global cybersecurity based on actual cyberattacks from malware to insider threats to cyber espionage, and this year’s report analyzes more than 41,000 cybersecurity incidents and over 2,000 data breaches from 86 countries. Key findings from the education sector this year include:

  • Approximately one fourth of breaches were web application attacks, most of which were attributable to the use of stolen credentials used to access cloud-based email.
  • There was a noticeable shift towards financially-motivated crime – with nearly 80% of incident motives being financial within the education sector. 
  • Cyber-espionage still a factor in this vertical, in part due to research partnerships with private industry and other sensitive information kept.

Additional findings from the education sector and insights on how to combat attacks can be found on page 38 of the DBIR (available here).

 

Featured

  • Carnegie Mellon University Receives $3B Gift to Launch New Campus

    Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently announced that it has received $3 billion—the largest individual gift in higher education history—from Citadel CEO and founder Ken Griffin, according to a news release.

  • Longwood University Hits Construction Milestone on New Music Education Facility

    Longwood University in Farmville, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of its new music education and performance facility, according to a news release. The university partnered with development and construction firm Skanska on the 63,800-square-foot facility, which began construction in August 2025 and has an estimated completion date of fall 2028.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.