Tag Archives: cyber security awareness month

Enhancing School Cybersecurity with the 3Rs Framework – Cybersecurity Awareness Month and K-12

Posted on by
Reply

Reading, writing, and arithmetic may be the best-known 3Rs in education. But as schools increasingly rely on digital tools to teach, communicate, and manage student information, district leaders need to adopt another set of 3Rs: Reduce, Replace, and Recover.

Introduced by CISA for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, these three actions offer a practical way to strengthen cybersecurity. Reduce everyday risks. Replace technology that can no longer be kept secure. Recover quickly when something goes wrong. For K-12 schools, the goal is not just to protect systems; it’s to protect student information and keep learning on track.

Reduce Everyday Risks

Not every cyber threat begins with an attack on a server. A convincing email may persuade an employee to share login credentials. A reused password may unintentionally give someone account access. An unvetted classroom app may collect more student information than necessary.

Reducing risk begins by taking routine steps: Use strong, unique passwords; turn on multifactor authentication; regularly update software; and learn to recognize and report phishing attempts. These are among the core practices CISA recommends for reducing vulnerabilities. Make sure staff know where to report a suspicious message or unexpected login prompt and encourage them to report it promptly rather than investigate it themselves.

In schools, reducing risk also means limiting unnecessary access to data. Review who can view student records, remove access when roles change, and consider what information is shared with each vendor. Before adopting a new tool or app, determine what data it collects, who can use that data, and whether its privacy settings can be adjusted. Teachers, administrators, students, and families all have a part to play, but districts must provide clear rules and support, so individuals are not left to make these decisions alone.

Replace Technology That Can No Longer Be Secured

Installing updates is essential, but updates cannot protect a device or application that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. CISA warns that end-of-support technology may stop receiving security patches, leaving known weaknesses available for attackers to exploit.

For districts, replacement planning may involve computers, network equipment, operating systems, or software used in classrooms and offices. An IT asset inventory can help technology teams identify what is currently in use, what still receives security updates, and what should be retired first. The inventory can also reveal tools that no longer serve a clear educational purpose but still maintain or connect to student data.

Replacing every aging system at once may not be realistic. Prioritize the technology that supports critical operations or handles sensitive information, then build a phased plan that reflects the district’s budget and school calendar. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an opportunity to begin that conversation before an unsupported system forces an urgent decision.

Recover Quickly and Keep Schools Operational

Even well-prepared organizations can fall victim to a security breach. A solid recovery plan can help your district quickly respond to a cyber incident, restore essential services, and communicate with your community.

Backup critical data and test recovery and restoration protocols. Create an incident response plan that identifies decision-makers, staff contacts, and district communication procedures, should standard systems become unavailable. Consider the practical questions: How will schools take attendance if the student information system is down? How will staff reach families? Which services must be restored first? CISA recommends exercising response plans and preparing ways to continue essential functions during a disruption.

This work does not have to begin from scratch. CISA offers K-12-specific guides and materials designed to help schools prevent, mitigate, and respond to cyber threats. The FCC has also selected more than 700 schools, libraries, and consortia for a pilot program, offering up to $200 million over three years for eligible cybersecurity services and equipment.

Cybersecurity awareness matters most when it changes what a district does next. This October, use the 3Rs to identify one risk to reduce, one outdated system to replace, and one recovery procedure to test. Each step helps protect the information families entrust to schools and the services that students count on every day.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month Is for Schools Too

Posted on by
Reply

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a perfect time to address the risks associated with the increased use of edtech in K-12 schools. While technology offers immense benefits to education, it also introduces significant security challenges that IT directors must be prepared to face.

The Risks of EdTech in Schools

As more apps and platforms are integrated into school systems, the danger of security breaches multiplies. Many of the apps used by students and teachers may not be fully vetted or controlled by district IT departments, leaving networks exposed to cyber threats. Students or staff may log in from multiple devices or on unsecured networks, putting sensitive data at further risk. This, along with the proliferation of shadow apps across school networks, poses a critical question: How can school IT teams ensure their systems are secure?

Cybercriminals Targeting EdTech

Schools are now the second-most targeted institutions for cyberattacks. The pressure on IT departments has doubled over the past five years, given the increasing complexity of managing networks, devices, and apps. Ransomware attacks, too, have become a growing concern, as threat actors exploit vulnerabilities in schools where multiple users access the network from various devices. Additionally, phishing schemes are a constant threat, exposing systems to attacks should students and staff inadvertently click on malicious links.

The Solution is Lumen Touch

Lumen Touch’s all-in-one enterprise management system is built on a secure Linux operating system and is remotely managed to ensure that updates and configurations follow industry best practices. We design our services with the intention of isolating risk and standardizing security protocols. By operating on a zero-trust basis – treating every network as potentially hostile – we protect your school’s data from threats, whether they arise from inside or outside your network.

At Lumen Touch, we take a proactive approach to data security. Our hosting services employ full-disk encryption, and we offer end-to-end encryption for all client data, whether in transit or at rest. We manage daily encrypted backups stored off-site, ensuring swift data recovery in case of user error or hardware failure. Whether you host with us or have your own server, we provide the peace of mind that comes with knowing your data is safe and easily restorable.

Protecting EdTech for the Future

As edtech becomes increasingly fundamental to education, managing the risks associated with its use is no longer optional; it’s essential. Lumen Touch offers 24/7/365 remote monitoring of your school’s systems, tracking an average of 160 data points per site to catch potential issues before they impact your operations.

At Lumen Touch, we prioritize student safety and data security, ensuring that technology enhances education without compromising on security. Contact us to learn how we can support your school’s IT needs and protect your digital infrastructure.

Growing Security Threats – EdTech Has a BRIGHT Future

Posted on by
Reply

Does the heart of a parent or teacher skip a beat when they hear that another school has been hacked? Their immediate thoughts are probably “I hope this doesn’t happen to my school.” But if it does, what can they do? Do board members and superintendents not lay awake at night wondering if their districts are protected from hacking and ransomware, and what the cost would be if their districts or schools became victims of extortion? Do school administrators concern themselves with their liabilities associated with student privacy, FERPA, HIPPA and much, much more?

The pressure that comes with protecting student management and information systems, maintaining compliance with state and federal laws, and delivering sophisticated integrated technologies to teachers and classrooms – all without breaking the budget – is enormous. It’s a difficult challenge, made more difficult by constant physical and digital security threats, unfunded mandates by state and local governments, and in many cases a shortage of IT support.

Schools Are Being Targeted by Hackers

Most schools are already using a variety of EdTech solutions that enhance educational programs, provide communications to their stakeholders; manage food services and bus routes; support students with special needs; provide data analytics; maintain data for audits; or help to manage buildings, libraries, student clinics, and school cafeterias. But when more than 500 schools have experienced targeted ransomware attacks in 2019 alone, the underlying security of any EdTech solution introduced to a school district must be a top consideration.

The social responsibility for managing technology in the education space is already overwhelming and will become more so with the advent of artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual reality, and the increased onslaught of cyber-attacks. This all equates to escalating costs to keep the demons out! The threat has become so significant that last year, the FBI issued a warning about the growing threat to schools.

The Daunting Task Before School Administrators

There is no turning back from this digital frontier; so how do you continue to deliver top-quality education and effectively provide student and data security, streamline workflow for overworked teachers and administrators, while also fostering community support with strong security and fiscal responsibility?

So, What Keeps the CEO of Lumen Touch and His Team Awake at Night?

“The last thing I ever want to hear is that one of our school partners have had a tragedy of some kind with one of their students, families, or staff members,” said Dr John Vandewalle, CEO. “The next thing that I loathe to hear is that their technology or data has been compromised in some way!”

How Do We Manage Effective School and Data Security?

We maintain updates and configurations for all of our services, keeping with industry best practices. Isolation of risk and standardization are core principals we use when determining the design and configurations of our services, and rather than react to existing threats, we work under the assumption that all networks are potentially hostile, including other servers in the local network and clients across the web. With this assumption in mind, we have explicitly banned the use of defaulted trust between services. All systems have access rules and firewalls enforced.

We have migrated to a fluid system of interoperability that allows for sharing of data across platforms and vendors while creating technological engines for automated data integration. This allows us to meet the standards of Ed-Fi, IMS Global, CoSN, and other organizations that create these standards. We are also able to distribute data across platforms in a just-in-time manner that provides instant communication and dashboards to all stakeholders, from board members to students and their families, on the technology of their choice.

Support Overworked Teachers and Administrators

Lumen Touch is dedicated to helping schools and districts transform how they deliver education, support teachers, and manage their schools, using EdTech that is not only comprehensive but extremely secure. Our all-in-one solution delivers remedies for everything a school district requires. Watch for our next blog, when we will discuss streamlining workflow and guarding against workplace dissatisfaction and teacher turnover.

Fiscal Responsibility – Save Your District Time and Money

Schools that implement Lumen Touch experience an average savings of 30% to 60%, which is realized from the time of engagement. In addition, Lumen Touch eases the aggravation that may result from negotiating with multiple vendors and removes the need for telecom contracts, carriers, and fees.

If meeting EdTech mandates has overwhelmed your school and district, let Lumen Touch demonstrate how we can free you up to focus on what’s really important: educating students and creating the leaders of the future.  Email us at sales@lumentouch.com, call us at 816.880.0066, or visit www.lumentouch.com.