Key Point:
- With cyber-attacks on the rise across schools, the IBM Education Security Grants are already reaping many benefits. 350,000 students worldwide
- Now in its third year, the grant has been expanded to give students and teachers access to cyber and AI skills through IBM SkillsBuild.
In response to the growing threat of ransomware attacks against schools around the world, IBM is offering an in-kind grant worth $5 million to help address cybersecurity resilience in schools.
Since its launch in 2021, the IBM Education Security Grants program has expanded globally and this year also includes enhanced offerings from IBM SkillsBuild on topics such as AI and cybersecurity.
Ransomware is deploying faster than ever, with attackers successfully reducing the time required to deploy a ransomware attack from over two months to just under four days from 2019 to 2021. IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023. In fact, the rate of cybersecurity incidents observed in the education sector will more than double he year-on-year in 2022, recording the largest year-on-year increase of any other industry.
Andy Piazza, Global Head of Threat Intelligence at IBM Security X-Force, said: “To date, the program has helped more than 350,000 of his students in schools in the United States and abroad, helping IBM service forces recover from ransomware attacks, strengthen their security posture against future attacks, and prevent further disruptions. We help prevent
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director of eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
