Cybersecurity threats are now placing “an untenable burden” on schools and the students and staff members they serve. That’s the conclusion of no less an authority than the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which offers new cybersecurity guidance to superintendents and their tech teams in its just-released “” report.
Growing cybersecurity threats are a downside of the advanced networking technologies that schools have adopted over the last few years, Homeland Security says. “This technological gain has introduced heightened risks,” the report says. “A continuing drumbeat of cyber-intrusions is threatening the nations ability to educate our children while also placing personal information and school data at risk.”
The report, produced by the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, offers cybersecurity strategies in three key areas: spending priorities, risk management and information sharing.
Combating K12 cybersecurity threats
1. Spending priorities: Focus on the most impactful steps. Leaders should concentrate on a few prioritized investments, such as deploying multifactor authentication, mitigating exploited vulnerabilities, implementing and testing backups, regularly exercising an incident response plan, and implementing a strong cybersecurity training program.Then leaders can work toward fully adopting Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity Performance Goals and building an enterprise cybersecurity plan.
2. Risk management must be elevated as a top priority. Leaders are encouraged to be creative in exploring grant opportunities, working with technology providers to access low-cost services and products, and reducing their security burden by migrating to secure cloud environments and trusted managed services.
3. No K12 institution is an island. Information sharing and collaboration with other districts and solution providers are essential for building cybersecurity awareness and resilience. K12 leaders can participate in information-sharing forums such as the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center or the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX).
91心頭istrators can find more strategies on the agency’s .
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