It’s been described as the “number one online threat targeting public and private organizations.” It’s led to critical system outages, the release of student data, the complete shutdown of learning, system and data damage, and more. It’s ransomware, and it is an extortion tactic that has become increasingly prevalent across school systems.

Preventing a ransomware attack is possible. However, it takes careful planning, training, and attention to cybersecurity fundamentals. This brief outlines critical steps needed to build a foolproof strategy.