As school systems reopen this fall for in-person, hybrid or remote learning, it is essential to pay attention to the persistent threat of cybersecurity attacks that can impact services, threaten staff and student personally identifiable information, and deny access to learning resources.  We are also all painfully aware of the lack of in-house resources available to schools and districts to address cybersecurity, making it imperative that we leverage outside resources whenever possible.  Here is a great opportunity to do just that and raise cybersecurity awareness among teachers, staff, p

Those responsible for cybersecurity in our districts spend a great deal of time empowering our users with security knowledge and awareness. Yet, we often don't allow any time for us to focus on our own learning.  As IT leaders, we oversee an incredibly complex, data-rich network that is under constant attack. To perform our jobs well, we must carve out time to learn and grow ourselves!

 

2020 marked a "record-breaking" year for cyber-attacks against schools and CoSN's 2021 IT leadership surveys found that cybersecurity remains a top concern among chief technology officers across the nation.

I spoke with David, the Director of Information Services in a smaller district (~5000 students) in the Midwest about what his district is doing to prepare for cyber-attacks this school year.

 

Back to school season is in full swing. It’s a time of fresh starts and new beginnings for the entire school district. Of course, past challenges haven’t gone away, but the season serves as a reminder that we can approach old challenges with clear eyes and a new perspective. To help bring the spirit of the season to your student data privacy program in the new school year, CoSN Members are invited to take advantage of these Member Briefs, tackling some of the thorniest student data privacy challenges:

CoSN sat down with Kevin Perkins, Technology Director for TLE Seal recipient Rockingham County Public Schools to learn more about Rockingham’s journey to the TLE and how starting small, but with sustained efforts, can lead to big wins over time.

 

 CoSN: Kevin, please tell us a bit about yourself and your district.

In 2020, CoSN partnered with Security Studio (S2) to develop a free, entry-level risk assessment designed explicitly for K12 schools. This blog highlights what we have learned between May 2020 and May 2021.  The assessment itself covers the following areas: background information, administrative controls, physical controls, and technical controls.