Higher education institutions are seeing a persistent rise in cyberattacks, with the sector facing roughly 4,200 attacks per week in 2026, according to Randy Rose of the Center for Internet Security (CIS). While attack levels are described as “holding steady” in 2026, the figure is still an indicator of ongoing threat pressure rather than improvement. The CIS executive cautioned that stability is not a positive outcome, reflecting the continued need for resilient controls, incident readiness, and strengthened operational security. The piece frames cybersecurity as an ongoing condition—an “it’s not a matter of if, but when” environment—especially for colleges and universities. For senior IT leaders and risk owners, the practical takeaway is to prioritize resilience planning that accounts for recurring attacks, not one-time hardening. That includes operational monitoring, remediation capacity, and risk governance aligned to institutional technology complexity.