“Education is evolving due to the impact of the Internet. We cannot teach our students in the same manner in which we were taught. Change is necessary to engage students, not in the curriculum we are responsible for teaching, but in school. Period.” ~ April Chamberlain
Every school district uses technology to keep records, create schedules, share information, and communicate. While the arrival of technology in schools and classrooms has been revolutionary in many ways, it also carries with it some risks that require schools to take care.
At Alludo, we often talk to assistant superintendents about information security vs cybersecurity and which they should prioritize. It’s a question that must be asked and answered, which is why we’ve designed the Alludo K-12 CyberSmart Training program to protect districts and their data. Here’s what you need to know about information security and cybersecurity in your district.
Cybersecurity is a term that refers to the protection of networks, systems, programs, and devices from digital intrusions that might allow the attacker to access information without authorization. Most cyber attacks are carried out with one of the following intentions:
Since the beginning of the internet, there have been bad actors whose goal it is to cause harm. As the number of active internet users has increased, so has the creativity of those actors. That means that cybersecurity is a challenging process as there are more devices than people and even the best cybersecurity experts can’t be everywhere at once.
The key to effective cybersecurity is having multiple layers of risk management and protection in place and making sure that a system’s users understand those layers and the role they play in protecting them. Every element within a system must do its part to protect the system:
Cybersecurity is a must for any internet user and particularly important for school districts, who hold confidential information about students and staff.
Information security, sometimes referred to as InfoSec, is a practice that uses both tools and processes to protect sensitive data from being modified, destroyed or inspected, and from having access by authorized users disrupted.
Organizations should have an information security management system (ISMS) in place to help them if there is a data breach. The ISMS provides formal guidelines that can be used to minimize the risk to stored data.
Cybersecurity is part of InfoSec, something we’ll discuss in more detail below. InfoSec may fall into these six categories:
InfoSec in school districts should focus on the protection of students’ personal information and of school data.
Now, let’s look at some of the key similarities and differences between information security vs cybersecurity:
As you can see, both cybersecurity and InfoSec play important roles that sometimes overlap. It may be difficult for school districts to know which to prioritize.
We believe that school districts need both cybersecurity and information security, but the growing use of the cloud to store data puts cybersecurity at the top of the list. Most students have at least one mobile device and many may be connected to the school network when they are on campus, or—as was the case during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic—engaged in remote learning.
There are plenty of examples of school districts who have been targeted by cyberattacks. Here are a few to consider:
What these three examples illustrate is that there is a real and growing cyber risk to school districts that fail to prioritize cybersecurity. All three of these attacks happened because data was not stored safely and adequate measures were not in place to protect it. While InfoSec is undeniably important, the biggest risk to schools at present is the risk to data that’s accessible via a cyberattack.
Here at Alludo Learning, we create dynamic, online learning environments for educators, administrators, and staff. We understand the importance of data privacy and security, which is why we have included many activities and courses related to security in the Alludo content catalog.
Our content can help teachers mitigate potential cybersecurity threats and fill in the gaps where the district’s IT team might not have resources to do what’s needed.
We offer a K-12 Cybersecurity Training Awareness program to make it easy for districts to meet security compliance standards and protect student, staff, and district data. The program provides a comprehensive platform for curating, publishing, managing, and measuring cybersecurity training efforts.
The districts that partner with Alludo experience the highest levels of learner engagement because we have incorporated robust analytics and collaboration features, so you can be sure that your district personnel will have the knowledge they need to be part of your cybersecurity solution.
Every school district has a responsibility to protect the personal information of its students and staff. Since users play a key role in cybersecurity, it makes sense to require educators, administrators, and staff to complete professional development that teaches them about their responsibilities as they relate to data security and privacy.
Are you ready to protect your school district from cyberattacks? Alludo can help! Click here to start your free trial of Madagascar, our learning platform, with our Privacy and Security Mission with 17 tracks preloaded for your convenience.