How Cybersecurity Awareness Training Can Protect Your School District

There’s no overstating the importance of cybersecurity for school districts, especially now. With an unprecedented number of laptops and tablets being provided to students and faculty, many school districts are approaching 1-to-1 computing environments. And with more devices in use, security policies need to be solid and consistent.

With over 1,000 cybersecurity incidents since 2016 in the United States alone, school districts are often the targets of:

• Ransomware attacks
• Phishing attacks
• Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks
• Personal data due breaches

School district Chief Information Officers (CIOs) bridge the gap between information technology (IT) and daily classroom activities, making them critical decision-makers in data protection. They help determine security policies their district should adopt. Common security policies include:

• Network and data monitoring
• Incident detection and response
• Vulnerability scanning
• Password policies
• User access control

Most of these policies can be established and enforced by the CIOs and the IT department. Doing so greatly increases the security of the school district. However, not all security can be controlled by a school district’s IT policies. Security can also be compromised by the faculty members themselves.

Why is cybersecurity awareness training needed?

Despite strict security policies being in place, cyberattacks can occur by targeting users instead of the system itself.

• Phishing attacks occur when an attempt is made to trick users into giving out personal information. In many cases, educators have been asked to turn over private or confidential student data to unverified sources.
• Malware or viruses could be shared, infecting entire systems, potentially leading to downtime or unusable systems.
• Ransomware attacks can hold your data hostage for a steep price, costing upwards of $84,000 to get back to normal whether the ransom is paid or not. This includes replaced hardware, labor, and other costs.

Remote operations and virtual classrooms have already pushed many faculty members out of their comfort zone this year. This makes them a target for security exploits. That’s why it’s imperative to provide faculty members with cybersecurity awareness training so they understand a student data breach puts people at risk of financial, emotional, and even physical harm.

What are some fundamentals of cybersecurity?

By educating faculty members on cybersecurity basics, they will have a better understanding of why certain policies are in place. Some fundamentals of cybersecurity include:

• Use unique passwords. It’s important to have your faculty use strong and unique passwords. The more unique the password, the less likely it is your account will be compromised. Using different passwords for each account protects you if a separate system gets compromised and your password is leaked.
• Be aware of social engineering. Social engineering is arguably one of the most effective ways for scammers to gain unwanted access. Attackers will exploit human psychology rather than trying to break into systems to gain access to systems or data.
• Different devices pose different risks. Although there is a lot of overlap, mobile devices such as smartphones and laptops pose different risks than desktops. Beware of connecting to public Wi-Fi. Lost or stolen mobile devices can be wiped remotely to protect confidential information. It’s important to communicate these risks with your faculty, especially if they opt to using their own personal smartphone.
• Carefully verify emails. Be aware of spoofing and phishing attacks. When sending confidential information, double check the email addresses that you’re sending to. Ensure encryption is being used. Your faculty should only be sending personal data to their intended recipient.
• Be wary of social media and confidentiality. Assume anything you post online can be seen by anyone, even if you have the highest security and privacy settings on your account. This is important as some teachers may want to engage with parents and students on social media platforms.
• When a cybersecurity incident happens, report it immediately. Cybersecurity incidents happen, but timely reporting can give your system or network administrators an opportunity to reduce the scope of the incident by quickly responding. We want to protect the individuals who are at risk. There may also be federal and state laws that apply.

What to do in the event of a K-12 cyberattack or data breach

Even if you follow all of the best practices, and are extremely vigilant, a cybersecurity incident can still happen. Most preventive measures will fail at some point.

The question becomes: How do we respond?

You can mitigate the effects of a cybersecurity incident by responding to it efficiently and effectively. It’s important to work with your school district to minimize the severity and frequency of cybersecurity incidents, and to act quickly if a preventive control has failed or was missed.

How can I keep my staff informed of cybersecurity risks?

A well-informed staff is your strongest ally in the fight against cybersecurity attacks. Provide your school district with cybersecurity awareness training built by CypherWorx and available right within PowerSchool Professional Learning. With comprehensive reporting in Professional Learning, you’re able to track who has completed the training to lessen security liabilities of the school district. Keep your district safe and your faculty informed to identify security risks, then responding effectively.