Cybersecurity experts warned that the next major higher-education data breach is likely to originate beyond campus networks, driven by vulnerabilities in third-party vendors that colleges and universities use for systems such as learning management, cloud services, and HR/payroll platforms. Identity Theft Resource Center president James Lee said each vendor adds risk exposure and creates supply-chain attack opportunities. The warning cites recent high-profile incidents affecting higher education, including the Canvas breach reported in May that exposed over 3.5 TB of data, and a reported Oracle vulnerability tied to payroll and student records that may have impacted additional U.S. colleges. Lee emphasized procurement governance and due diligence as key defenses. For universities, this reframes “defense” as a governance and contracting problem as much as an IT problem—requiring board-level risk management, vendor security requirements, and incident response planning that assumes compromise can begin outside the institution’s perimeter.