Cybersecurity firms report a sharp rise in sophisticated ransomware and extortion attacks targeting colleges and universities, with education organizations facing thousands of weekly probes and a year‑over‑year increase in frequency. Attackers are shifting tactics toward data exfiltration, prolonged downtime and multifaceted extortion that jeopardizes research and student records. - The sector’s sprawling IT footprint, open networks, and mixed legacy systems create high vulnerability; security leaders warn that academic priorities—openness and collaboration—complicate typical enterprise defenses. Experts urge multi‑layered backups, zero‑trust segmentation and mandatory incident‑response planning across campuses. - Ransomware incidents can disrupt student services, research continuity and financial operations; boards and presidents are increasingly being briefed on cyber risk as part of institutional resilience planning.