Recent research by the GOV.UK found that 98% of higher education institutions had identified breaches or cyber attacks over the last year. Higher education institutions are so frequently attacked because they hold vast amounts of personal data.
Completing your degree online gives you the freedom to balance your studies with your personal life. However, it also increases your attack surface. Your learning takes place outside the school’s secure network — you’re completing work on uncontrolled home and public Wi-Fi connections.
Why Hackers Target Colleges and Universities
All institutions related to education are under threat, not only universities and colleges. In July 2026, hackers reportedly stole 607,000 records from the Department for Education (DfE) in England. These records included telephone numbers and email addresses.
Such data could prove valuable for further attacks or could be sold on the dark web.
Like the DfE, universities and colleges hold a vast amount of information that could prove useful to hackers. Besides emails and phone numbers, hackers can also retrieve dates of birth, addresses, and financial information. With enough information gathered, hackers can launch targeted phishing and impersonation attacks.
Hackers also know that higher education institutions are open and collaborative by nature. As a student, you likely join new online groups, access third-party platforms, and share sensitive documentation on a daily basis. While these actions can be completed securely, each creates another opportunity for a hacker.
Students are generally under a lot of pressure and can often let their guard down when it comes to cybersecurity. After a long day, the likelihood of clicking on a malicious link or falling for a phishing attempt increases.
The Cybersecurity Risks You Are Most Likely to Face
While completing your online degree, you will face many risks.
Phishing
A recent Jisc report found that phishing and ransomware were the top two security threats in higher education.
Hackers will impersonate fellow students and university workers to convince you to complete an action. They may claim that they’re from the IT or student finance team. The hacker may even pretend to be your lecturer or tutor.
In the message, the hacker will create a sense of urgency. For example, they will state that you need to make an immediate revision to your last submission, or that they’ll delete your account if you don’t update your username and password.
The email will then point you towards a link that’ll infect your computer with malware once you click on it.
Password Reuse
A lot of students will reuse passwords across various online learning platforms. Although convenient, password reuse can land you in serious danger in the event of a breach. If a hacker successfully steals data from one platform, they can use your shared credentials to access other platforms too.
Unsafe Devices and Software
If you opt to complete your degree online, you most likely won’t have access to your institution’s computers and other devices. You’ll therefore have to rely on your own laptop and tablet for coursework. These devices won’t have the same protections in place as university-provided devices would.
In addition, forgetting to update security, downloading unverified software, and installing browser extensions can increase your attack surface.
Practical Steps to Protect Your Online Studies
Cyberattacks are increasing, and institutions are investing more in protection. According to cybersecurity attack statistics, 93% of organisations increased their defence budget by 10% in 2025.
However, your educational institution can only provide so much cybersecurity assistance. You still need to do the majority of the work by adapting best cybersecurity practices.
1. Treat Unexpected Emails With Caution
Don’t click on a link from any unexpected emails. Instead, open your institution’s portal directly. If an email is demanding immediate action, check the signs for phishing attempts, which include incorrect email addresses, fake names, and poor spelling.
2. Be Careful With Shared Files
Make sure you’re sending your shared files to where they’re supposed to go. Also, consider the information you’re uploading to third-party platforms. If a document contains unnecessary sensitive information, remove it.
3. Keep Your Devices Updated
Update operating systems, browsers, and applications as soon as new versions become available. By doing so, you’ll patch up all vulnerabilities. You need to safeguard your personal devices just as a dedicated IT team would safeguard devices at the university.
4. Practice Cybersecurity
Create a strong and unique password for each of your accounts. You can keep these passwords saved with a password manager. In addition, turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts.
5. Use Secure Connections
Exercise caution when using public networks. Specifically, don’t enter sensitive credentials or send files containing private information.
Data Security Is Your Responsibility
When you choose to study online, you take responsibility for your own data security. There is no dedicated IT team to keep your software updated and your communications encrypted. You, therefore, need to spend time assessing your security risks and making changes where necessary.
Your personal devices, accounts, and online habits all present opportunities for hackers. Most threats are preventable. Stay alert to phishing attempts, use strong and unique passwords, and keep your devices and systems up-to-date.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Phishing. Jisc reports it as the top security threat in higher education — hackers impersonate IT staff, tutors or finance teams and create urgency so you click a malicious link. Verify senders and open your institution’s portal directly instead.
Use a strong, unique password for every account with a password manager, turn on multi-factor authentication, keep devices and software updated, and avoid entering credentials on public Wi-Fi.
They hold vast amounts of personal data — emails, phone numbers, dates of birth, addresses and financial details — and their open, collaborative culture creates many entry points for targeted attacks.
