SMARTSCHOOL WARNS SCHOOLS ABOUT DDOS ATTACKS
The Belgian digital school platform warns in a press release about the increasing number of DDoS attacks on schools.
The increase in the number of DDoS attacks has not escaped the attention of the Center for Cyber Security Belgium (CCB). That's why, in February 2021, the CCB issued guidelines to Belgian schools with recommendations for protecting schools' network infrastructure against this type of attack.
Schools that have not received these guidelines can obtain them upon request at info@ccb.belgium.be.
DDoS attacks: not as innocent as they seem
In a DDoS attack, or "distributed denial of service" attack, cybercriminals attempt to sabotage a server by overloading it with page requests. The server is then unable to process this amount of requests to the point where the website is no longer accessible until the attack stops or is countered.
As the COVID pandemic rages on, schools are relying more than ever on digital learning platforms to ensure educational continuity. DDoS attacks seem to be the work of students who deliberately want to cripple (remote) learning. In addition to damaging the school's reputation, DDoS attacks cause economic damage.
Protection against DDoS attacks
The CCB has developed guidelines for schools that want to protect themselves against DDoS attacks. The guidelines were released in February 2021 and are available upon request via info@ccb.belgium.be.
Protection measures against DDoS attacks do not guarantee 100% network availability. Therefore, it is equally important to start a dialogue with students and their parents about the potential damage and consequences of a DDoS attack.
Victim?
We recommend that schools engage in dialogue with students and their parents.
Victims of DDoS attacks can file a complaint with the police. Launching a DDoS attack is a criminal offence.
The CCB has developed communication guidelines for victims of cyber attacks.