Cybercriminals are relentless in their efforts to gain access to as many organizations’ critical infrastructure systems and valuable confidential data as possible. This is especially true in the education sector. In the education sector, school district data is essentially a low-hanging fruit that can be sold on the dark web.
Everyone has an important role to play in defending against cybercriminals. To protect school networks, K-12 school district trustees, superintendents, administrators, and staff need to be well-informed about the cyber threats their schools face and their impact. Here’s how her district’s IT leaders and staff can help schools make cybersecurity a shared responsibility.
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1. Attend board meetings regularly and provide concise updates
As an IT leader, one of the primary ways I communicate how important evolving cyber threats are to K-12 school districts is by attending school board meetings and providing concise, jargon-free cyber To provide the latest security information.
This ensures that board members are well-informed and can make educated decisions about cybersecurity budgets, purchases, resources, and policies that best fit the district’s initiatives and needs.
By including cybersecurity discussions on school board agendas, school leaders demonstrate a commitment to protecting the privacy and security of staff and students.
2. Be transparent with your school’s management team
Building a culture of cybersecurity awareness in your school district means being transparent with your management team, including principals, special education directors, curriculum directors, and more. Her IT leadership at the school is responsible for vetting applications to ensure compliance with federal student privacy laws.
Therefore, it’s important to communicate your cybersecurity efforts and upcoming changes. If you’re planning a security upgrade over the holidays and expect a network outage, be sure to alert your management team. They will appreciate your transparency.
learn more: Strategic communication with school leaders supports technology investments.
3. Ensure staff training emphasizes the dangers of cyberattacks
Cybersecurity awareness training is one of the most important tools you can incorporate into your cybersecurity plan. Many ransomware attacks stem from phishing and social engineering, so it’s essential to equip your staff with the knowledge and ability to defend against them. Also note that what you learn from your training sessions can be applied to your personal life as well.
4. Focus on prevention instead of reacting to disruptions
It’s not just administrators, educators, and staff who need to remain vigilant. It’s also important for IT departments to focus on implementing preventive measures. Do you separate administrator and user accounts? Do you enforce multi-factor authentication? Are you regularly auditing and cleaning Active Directory? How secure are your third-party vendors?
Asking these questions internally to improve your school district’s cybersecurity posture will also pay dividends when it’s time to renew your cybersecurity insurance.
next: How can schools fund third-party risk management?
