Education sector becomes most targeted industry for global cyberattacks

Research from Check Point Research indicates that the education sector has become the most targeted industry for cyberattacks globally, surpassing government, healthcare, and finance sectors. Between January and July 2026, educational organizations faced an average of nearly 4,700 cyberattacks per week, a figure that rose to approximately 4,848 per week by July 2026, representing a 14% increase compared to the previous year.

While the Asia-Pacific region saw the highest volume of attacks, Europe experienced an 18% year-on-year increase, and Latin America saw a 42% rise. The surge is attributed to increased reliance on cloud tools, online learning platforms, and digital collaboration systems.

Criminals are also utilizing domain registration to facilitate attacks. In July 2026, nearly 19,000 new domains containing terms such as “school”, “university”, or “student” were registered. The ratio of malicious domains rose significantly, with approximately 1 in every 226 new education-themed websites identified as malicious by July.

To mitigate these risks, researchers recommend that educational institutions implement multi-factor authentication, regularly update administrative and learning systems, and train staff to recognize phishing attempts and suspicious web addresses.