Some students have already returned to the classroom. Over the next few weeks, the halls of schools around the country will be filled with the sounds of laughter and chaos as the rest of students return. To prepare for the new school year, school districts have been working hard to have in place everything from the right technology to the right staff. But there are three back-to-school goals every school should have in order to ensure cyber safety and peace of mind for students, staff, and parents.
Improve School Cybersecurity
According to The State of Ransomware in Education 2022 report from Sophos,
- Ransomware attacks on (K-12) education have increased 56%
- K-12 schools struggle to thwart ransomware attacks, with 72% of attacks being successful
- 45% of K-12 schools that have experienced an attack paid the ransom to retrieve their encrypted data, with a very small percentage of them actually getting back the entirety of their data.
- K-12 schools spent $1.58 million on ransoms and data recovery last year
Take Action: In order to know where you need to make improvements to your cybersecurity strategy, you need to know where your weaknesses are. That’s why Lumen™ Touch is offering a cybersecurity audit service for schools: Bright LITE. Our customized service offering provides individuals and organizations with the necessary information and education to efficiently evaluate both the risks and opportunities they face. Download the Bright LITE brochure (PDF)
Protect Student Data
Every year, districts choose new technology solutions that will help deliver the right curriculum to their students. With those choices come concerns about rostering student data multiple times to a variety of different vendors. It can be cost- and time-prohibitive to vet each vendor.
Take Action: Bright PASSPORT governs how schools share personally identifiable information (PII), such as student roster data. Rather than allow teachers or school districts to implement apps for their classrooms as they see fit, thereby increasing cyber risk in the schools, Bright PASSPORT provides districts with a library of approved apps that have been properly vetted to meet the required security standards. Partner with Lumen Touch to meet your student data privacy needs.
Become a Smart, Connected District
A smart, connected school district requires:
A comprehensive school management tool that includes:
- Online registration
- Attendance
- Discipline
- Nutrition services
- Health and wellness
- Truancy
- Transportation
- Fees, fines, and point of sale
A secure database with built-in backup and recovery
A comprehensive teaching and learning system that includes:
- Curriculum and assessment
- Scheduling
- Grade reports and transcripts
- Learning management system
- After-school programs
- Diploma tracking
Real-time reporting:
- Any data, anywhere
- State reporting
- Customized reports
- Real-time goal tracking
Communication tools:
- Customized user portals
- Instant messaging
- Personalized content
Comprehensive support, including train the trainer
Take Action: Lumen Touch Bright SUITE® provides districts with everything they need to deliver a better educational experience from start to finish. A one-stop-shop for schools, Bright SUITE incorporates everything a district needs, from a learning management system to student information systems to health-and-safety monitoring and reporting. With distinctive modules for special education, a full edtech solution library, and modules for teacher professional development, Bright SUITE is an all-in-one enterprise management solution that not only allows districts to save money, but it also creates a secure and connected school district with real-time data that lets educators make the best decisions for all students. Learn more.