Cybersecurity firms report a sharp rise in ransomware and related attacks against colleges and universities in 2025, with education organizations seeing thousands of attempted breaches weekly. Attackers are evolving tactics—moving beyond mass encryption to targeted extortion, data theft and supply‑chain disruption—forcing campuses to reassess incident response, backup strategies and investment in IT defenses. Security specialists warn that attackers are exploiting fragmented budgets and aging infrastructure at many institutions. Higher‑education CISOs are prioritizing network segmentation, multifactor authentication and tabletop exercises while urging coordinated federal‑state support to fund defensive upgrades for research, administrative systems and student data protections. What happened: Education sector ransomware attacks have accelerated, prompting investment and urgent planning across campuses. Who’s involved: Campus IT teams, cybersecurity firms, federal guidance bodies. Sources: Check Point report and sector analysis.