education
Cybersecurity for education
Protect your organisation, safeguard student data and meet your compliance obligations with one platform for schools, colleges, trusts and universities.
Meet DfE cybersecurity expectations, train staff and governors, and protect every device across every site. Keeping pupils safe now includes keeping their data safe.
Education is under attack
According to 2025 UK government statistics, all levels of education, from universities (91%) to primary (44%) and secondary schools (60%), suffer high breach rates. And the consequences can be disastrous, with the average cost of a breach to an education provider around £620k.
The challenge
The average school, university or Further Education college holds masses of sensitive student data and research, making them an enticing target for cybercriminals.
However, education providers operate on stretched budgets, without the in-house cyber expertise or specialist tools to protect themselves and their students.
This is where CyberSmart can help.
How CyberSmart can help
Gain year-round protection from cyber threats
Protect your staff, systems and student data with our compliance, assurance and threat detection software.
Active Protect checks every laptop, desktop, tablet and phone across classrooms, offices and staff homes, and guides users to fix risks in minutes. That takes the pressure off small IT teams. Term time or holidays, your protection never stops.
Enforce security policy compliance
Distribute security policies across your organisation and track who has read and agreed to them.
Start from ready-made templates covering data protection, IT access and security awareness, and roll them out to teachers, support staff and governors in minutes. See acceptance at a glance across every school or site. Clear evidence of good data governance, ready for inspections and audits.
Get accredited, fast
Meet your Department for Education obligations and protect against the most common cyber threats, with a fast, simple route to Cyber Essentials.
Cyber Essentials helps you meet DfE cybersecurity standards and shows parents, partners and funders you take security seriously. Our guided portal, expert assessors and unlimited resubmissions get you certified with minimal disruption.
Give your people the skills to protect your organisation
Get tailored, education-specific cybersecurity training, including phishing simulations, for staff and governors.
Short modules fit around timetables and cover the threats schools and colleges face most, from fake parent emails to invoice fraud and ransomware. Completion reports show who's trained across every site. Teachers teach online safety. Now they can practise it too.
Close the gaps with effortless patching
Reduce vulnerabilities by keeping third-party software up to date with new security patches automatically.
Browsers, PDF readers, video calling and learning apps stay updated across Windows and Mac without interrupting lessons. That helps you meet the Cyber Essentials 14-day patching rule, with a full patch history for every device. Known vulnerabilities, closed automatically.
Access free cyber insurance coverage
Eligible Cyber Essentials-certified organisations get £25,000 of included cyber insurance, with options for higher-limit cover.
Uplift to higher limits for a fixed annual cost, or compare discounted bespoke policies through our FCA-regulated broker, Sutcliffe & Co. Check how this works alongside any existing cover, such as the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA).
Education Readiness Package
Your fast track to Department for Education cyber standards readiness
CyberSmart Active Protect with Patch
Alongside everyday protection, CyberSmart Active Protect provides asset discovery, vulnerability scanning, and ongoing technical control and patch evidence from a centralised dashboard.
Cyber Essentials
Government-endorsed security baseline ensuring compliance with DfE standards and ESFA funding requirements.
Smart Policies
A complete, preloaded DfE-aligned policy set, including incident response, acceptable use safeguarding, and vendor risk
CyberSmart Learn
Staff and governor cybersecurity training, mapped to DfE cyber standards.
Free cyber insurance
All eligible CyberSmart customers receive £25,000 of free Cyber Essentials insurance, with options to upgrade cover directly through our trusted insurance broker.
See how it works specifically for you
Join 1,000+ UK partners delivering profitable cybersecurity services. Book a call with our team to learn how CyberSmart works for your MSP.
We’ll cover
- Platform walkthrough tailored to your business
- How to onboard your first clients
- Getting set up as a CyberSmart partner