RANSOMWARE attacks against schools and universities held relatively steady in 2025, but the scale of data exposure rose sharply, driven in part by third-party software vulnerabilities and a handful of outsized higher education breaches. According to Comparitech’s latest education ransomware roundup, ransomware gangs globally claimed 251 attacks on educational institutions in 2025, just a few more than 2024’s 247, of which 94 have been confirmed by targeted organisations.
Across confirmed attacks in 2025, 3.9 million records are known to have been exposed, a 27 per cent increase over the 3.1 million of the previous year. Rebecca Moody, head of data research at Comparitech, said the breach totals are likely to rise further as additional disclosures are filed. The report notes that while the number of attacks plateaued, the impact on exposed data grew significantly.