The State of University Cybersecurity: 3 Major Problems in 2026 | UpGuard

This UpGuard research brief analyzes security posture across 1,500 universities and 5,000 vendors, finding universities have large web-facing attack surfaces (hundreds to thousands of domains, many unmaintained), widespread use of end-of-life software and known-exploited vulnerabilities, and notable exposure via open RDP ports; it also shows third-party vendors often have weaker security scores and that HECVAT participation correlates with improved vendor security.