Everyday Reflections

In April, the website of Rajasthan’s Education Department was targeted in a cyberattack, which modified the homepage to display inflammatory messages. It’s just one of many such worrying incidents.

India’s digital learning ecosystem is booming, with online higher education and upskilling set to grow to Rs 41,500 crore by FY28, according to a report by Technopak Advisors. However, as classrooms increasingly turn digital, they are more exposed to risks. 

Institutes often lack robust cybersecurity measures or dedicated teams — either because they are underfunded or lack willingness to upgrade — leaving them defenseless against sophisticated threat actors.

The Indian education sector faced an average of 7,095 weekly cyberattacks per organisation, as per a report by Check Point Research. This places it even above government institutions and consumer goods companies. 

A pilot study, conducted under the CyberPeace Foundation’s e-Kawach initiative, shows that Indian educational institutions faced more than 2 lakh cyberattacks and nearly 4 lakh data breaches between July 2023 and April 2024.

Educational institutes collect sensitive data from students (including Aadhaar, photo, birth certificate, etc). So, a data breach can lead to dark web sale of transcripts, personal records and forged certificates. 

Meanwhile, ransomware incidents have disrupted exams, led to delay in assessments and even forced institutions offline — such as the 157-year-old Lincoln College in Illinois, USA. AI is also intensifying the threat with fake login, exam portals or fee-payment systems; deepfake phishing; and malware that exploits vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity is not just an IT concern — it has implications for research and development, academic integrity, and Intellectual Property. As India moves ahead with digital learning, addressing such security gaps is critical to safeguard the future of education and safety of students’ data. 

Institutions will need to have a prevention-first approach and establish frameworks for resilience. 

→With next-gen AI, we can leverage AI-driven defenses, hybrid mesh security, cloud-native protection, and actionable threat intelligence to protect critical assets. 

→Institutions can also adopt self-assessment tools, rank frameworks for threat levels, and have structured training programs, similar to those used in the defense sector. 

→Other practical measures include multi-factor authentication, patching systems regularly, and conducting programs on cybersecurity for students, staff, and parents. 

Cyberattacks may be a dormant threat vector for now, but it has potential to become an active risk across the country. India needs to swiftly respond to cyber threats for self-reliance and a better tomorrow.