A Kaspersky study found that 46% of students in Spain who took online or hybrid courses over the past year experienced a cyberattack related to their studies. Students logging in to study face threats including malware, stolen accounts and fake educational sites.
Malware affected 19% of students through infected files, apps or educational software. Another 17% lost control of their accounts after being hacked. The study also found that 11% received suspicious messages or links, while 11% encountered fake websites or apps and 9% had their personal data misused. Signing up for a course could also pose a risk: 11% said they had fallen for fraudulent educational providers.
INCIBE recorded 122,223 cybersecurity incidents in Spain in 2025, 26% more than the year before.
Schools and universities in Spain have become targets. Information from Kaspersky research, each institution faces an average of 4,700 cyberattacks every week. Attackers seek credentials and personal data from students and staff. Meanwhile, 56% of Spaniards surveyed took part in some kind of study last year. Of those, 24% chose fully online courses, while 18% opted for hybrid models combining digital and in-person learning.
Cybercriminals have ramped up spam campaigns aimed at the online education boom. Some target parents, urging them to enroll their children in supposedly better online programs. Others pitch adults on returning to school without leaving their jobs. Many offers feature misleading images and links to unrelated online shops, or make false promises of student loans or financial aid. The Kaspersky study reports that 26% of students received unwanted ads, another 26% lost money, and 23% wasted valuable time. For 32%, the consequences included losing access to educational platforms or apps; 28% said their devices failed or broke down.
Reported incident rates also varied by age group. Generation Z had the highest rate, at 65%, followed by millennials at 64%. The figures were 39% for Generation X and 26% for baby boomers. Most students, 71%, use Windows computers for their studies, making them a steady target for malware and phishing attacks.
The Andalusia government’s cybersecurity center held 44 training events and prepared 38 awareness materials in 2025, reaching more than 6,800 people.
Marina Titova, vice president of Consumer Business at Kaspersky, links the rise in attacks to sustained demand for online university courses and advanced training. She warns that "losing a research paper to ransomware, paying for a fake course, or compromising a personal account after clicking a malicious link are all very real risks for online students."
Experts advise students to use unique, complex passwords for every educational platform, allow multifactor authentication whenever possible and avoid public Wi-Fi when handling sensitive data. If public networks are unavoidable, they recommend using a trusted VPN. Regular backups, whether to cloud services with version control or encrypted external drives, are also impressive for people learning online.
Cybersecurity companies are rolling out consumer tools that combine AI-powered scam detection with real-time monitoring and machine learning-based antiphishing features. These technologies are designed to keep pace with more sophisticated attacks, but users remain responsible for their digital hygiene.
Spain’s digital education boom has opened new doors for millions while creating opportunities for cybercriminals. The country’s push for technology brings both chance and risk, as seen in other fields, including the healthcare breakthroughs reported earlier.
